Final Fantasy- Golden Warriors of the Light
by HolySun
Summary: Four children, each of very different backgrounds, are chosen to be the Warriors of the Light. They must protect their world, and defeat a tyrant whose goal is to control every monster and creature that roams the earth to take over the world. But these children aren't perfect. They make mistakes, argue, and sometimes let love get in the way. Can they complete this difficult quest?
1. Prologue - True Pain

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

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**Prologue - True Pain**

A man grunted as he climbed up a steep mountain on one starry night, guided only by the moon shimmering over the vast sea. He reached the edge of a cliff which gave him an incredible view of the Alrynite Valley.

Between all the trees in the valley lied a quiet village. This village was home to many great people, all throughout history. Many generations of warriors hailed from here and returned victorious from countless battles.

But as time passed, this village had stopped producing these heroes. The world had become fairly peaceful for many generations. There were no great wars or evil alarming this village. It's people were cheerful and happy, unmatched by any threat or challenge, and able to dwell among each other peacefully.

They had decided to cut the rigorous training down of their youth to become deadly fighters, whose one goal was to utterly destroy anything that threatened them. They wanting to finally live a better and easier life.

The man gazed over this village, where he had grew up in. Memories flooded his mind as he looked at each section of this village, remembering his experiences there as a young, happy boy.

He looked toward a small neighborhood and saw his family and friends there, who were always smiling and waving at him. He pondered one day why everyone was always like that, having no other emotion besides joy.

That was the day he changed. The concept of happiness poisoned him. It completely _sickened_ him. He hated it all. He hated everyone. Happiness didn't exist to him. It was nothing but a fraudulent lie.

He knew there was more than that in this life. He wanted to know more about the world. He left that village and was absorbed into the darkness. He felt evil course through his cold veins. He gave this village one more cold glimpse before turning away, placing his black, spiked helmet back on his head, and disappearing into the night.

He hated this village…

On one fall afternoon, a boy walks along the road as he heads towards his home. He passes a group of kids, who were laughing and playing together. As he sees them run around so joyously, he shoves his hands in his pockets and stares at the ground, continuing without saying a word.

There is something that keeps him from feeling this bliss, unlike them. He is alone. Nobody likes him.

In Alryne, the village of warriors, strength is one's true pride. Despite these peaceful times, the children always compete against each other with strength, because their nature is passed on from the earlier generations of Alryne. They contain the blood of a warrior.

The boy doesn't have any of this strength. He is just a weak kid that everyone laughs. The other kids ridicule and bully him because his arms are thin and he can't wield a sword properly or defend himself.

As the boy shakes his head in anger at these thoughts, he is suddenly stopped. A girl blocks his path, looking at him with a devilish smirk.

She is much taller than him, and always bullies him for her own enjoyment. He glares at her, balling his hands into shaking fists but she only laughs.

"That will do you nothing you dimwit and you know it!" Her devilish eyes grew wide as she advances towards him.

Frightened by her towering appearance, tears form in his eyes as he turns and starts to run away. She quickly catches up to him and strikes him on the back. He winces in pain as he falls on the dirt. She violently turns him on his back and starts beating him in the face. He screams and struggles to retaliate but it is no use. Her weight on top of him was too much.

When another kid finally pulls her away, he gets up narrowly escapes, blood dripping from his face. The girl laughs and yells after him, "You better run! There's no place for a weakling like you here!" He hears even more laughter fading away as he escapes them.

He finally reaches his home, but is too furious to go inside and hide himself like he always does, and continues running into the forest. He just wanted to escape from that stupid place for a while.

Stopping in front of a tree, and flustered by being beaten up again, the boy begins to wail at it, punching the bark with all of his might. He beats the tree until his hands are raw and bloody. He screams until he couldn't scream anymore, letting loose all of his turmoil.

But suddenly he stops as he hears leaves rustling, and footsteps hitting the ground nearby. He becomes dead silent and crouches behind the bloody tree.

"I know you're there, don't you hide from me!" A voice appears from where the footsteps where.

He was afraid again, fearing that someone had followed him and wanted to get in a few rounds on him..

He decided he would just get it over with and slowly peaks from the edge of the tree, toward the voice's location.

He notices a kid who looked about his age, and the gear he was wearing was from Kurina, the small ninja village in the forest neighboring Alryne.

With a quick sigh of relief, the boy exits his hiding spot and makes his appearance known to the small ninja.

"Who are you? Why are you walking away from your village?" he asks.

"It doesn't even matter who I am… I'm nothing but a failure to my village." The ninja replies, looking down at the ground. His tone of voice sounded shameful, as if he had been utterly defeated.

_This kid must have been banished from Kurina… I heard that the ninja there have similar to warriors in Alryne. Those that are weak are deemed as abominations and are never allowed back into the village. Man, that's the worst thing that can ever happen to him._ He thought, feeling his pain.

The boy looks at him sympathetically before realizing that the ninja's position in his village is the same as his own in Alryne… He saw his feeble look of depression, as if looking at a mirror.

The ninja looks up and notices the bloody hands and face of the kid who had been hiding.

"Hey, are you alright? You look like you just killed someone…" Judging by the tears on his face mixed with blood from the wounds on his cheeks, he was convinced him that the kid was the one who was attacked, not the other way around.

"Yeah, I'm alright…." It didn't really hurt him anymore. His anger had overpowered the pain of his wounds.

The boy looks up and says, "It looks like I am kinda like you, I guess. I'm just a stupid weakling to them and that I'm not worthy enough to be an Alrynite warrior." He shoves his hands in his pockets and stares at the ground in shame as well.

"Alryne, huh…" The ninja had heard stories about Alryne.

_Despite their hard-headedness, the toughness of those warriors are even on par with elite Kurina ninja. And they're no joke…_

He shivers at the thought of the deadly, cold stares that those ninja give, even if you simply just walk by them.

"'Strength is pride', isn't that right?" the ninja asks him.

As he hears the infamous motto of his village, the boy looks up at him and nods slowly. He knew that he was nowhere near close to being able to represent this statement, which represents their pride and glory.

They both remained completely silent for the longest time.

Ill-tempered at the thought of his banishment, the ninja finally breaks the silence.

"I'm sick of it! I want to prove that I have what it takes to be the greatest ninja of them all!" He shouts.

The boy continued to stare at the ground, but even though he had never said it out loud, he feels the same way. He always had that sensation dwell inside him. He wanted to prove that he could be strong as well, and to everyone, especially that stupid girl, that he could be a mighty warrior.

That thought swelled his chest with pride. But then he recalls his past, and reveals his other side. The side that has no hope. The side that tells him he is just too weak, and there was nothing he could do about it, just like everyone else says.

He sighs and faces the ground again.

The young ninja also recalls his haunting past, reminding himself time over time of his own failures. He could never even do his beginner techniques right, and his speed was always lacking compared to his peers.

The harrowing words _Last place_ return to him, from hearing that so many times, he couldn't help but run away from Kurina and never return.

With these thoughts flooding his mind, he strives to become stronger, quicker, and sharper, like a true ninja.

He turns to the kid who solemnly stood there, staring at the ground with his hands in his pockets, and decides to finally break the second long and bitter silence.

"Hey, what's your name?" He asks.

The boy didn't react for at first but realizing what he had just said made him look up, confused and shocked, as he had never heard someone ask him that before.

Anxiously, he stammers, "Uh...Neal. What about you?"

The ninja walked up to him, extending his hand. "Sevrin."

Neal stood there, looking at the hand waiting to accept his own. This is a sacred symbol of friendship that exists everywhere in the world. That word _friendship_ struck his mind, and especially his heart. A _friend._ A _companion_. These words returned that feeling of hope inside him. Neal never had a single person in his life that he could think of in this way.

But maybe it was time for a change. Here stood a boy who was just like he was, who has experienced the true pain of being alone.

_He wants to do something about this pain? He really wants to become stronger, and to conquer his weakness? Then you know what?! So do I!_

A fire lights in his mind. A fire of determination and pride. He grinned and firmly shook Sevrin's hand.

"What do you say we start training together and become strong, and show everyone what we're really made of?!" He shouts with his new-found determination.

Pride swelled up into their chests, completely melting the depressing atmosphere when they first encountered each other. Sevrin smiled, seeing the passion and pride of a warrior in Neal's heart.

Their new-found determination that began on this very day would soon bring them the strength that they have always desired, and exceed everyone's expectations; even their own…

But this new-found strength wasn't their only significance is this wicked world. Their destinies will change forever when they meet two young mages...

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**Author's Note:**

Hello. Thanks for reading my first ever fan fiction! I've had this story mapped out in my head for a while, so I wanted to write it down. It is going to have influence from FFIII and IV, but the difference is, in this story I want to breathe more life into the four heroes. What goes on in their head, what emotions the adventure brings to them, etc. I also want to show that the Warriors of the Light aren't perfect and that they make mistakes and go through extreme hardships along the way. I plan on four parts, ten chapters each.


	2. The Destined Children!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

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_Part I: Youth_

**Chapter One - The Destined Children!**

The day has finally arrived. The annual Assembly of Fate had begun. Each child of the year's graduating class is brought to the central courtyard to see the Council of the Elders of Alryne.

There, they would be examined with a mysterious power the elders contain, which is to foresee one's fate.

The elders are the wisest of the entire village, having guided many generations of warriors, who took their first steps of their path of the warrior from this very same event many years ago.

But over time, this sacred event has changed dramatically. The people of Alryne had forgotten this event's true purpose because of the peaceful times.

Lately, for the past few years, parents view this event as just a type of ceremony or milestone of their children's education and training. All they see today is the elders celebrating the children on their way to be heroes of Alryne.

They would cheer for their kids whose names are called for a role in the village that they believe fits the child best, but not even pay attention to what the elders say, as they only focus on the happiness of their child.

That is all the people see. But of course, this isn't true. Yet there just wasn't a need anymore for recruiting fighters. There was no more war, so what else could they do? The main purpose was to find who was going to be going to war ahead of time, in order to prepare them. They take it so lightly now...

Despite this, the people of Alryne are still sharp, and do not lower their guard completely. Their children are still raised and trained to be able to handle any trouble that come their way.

The Chief Elder, Ingad, takes a good look at this generation of Alrynites that stand before him. The children are horse playing, laughing, and chatting amongst each other while their parents just smile and watch. He sighs.

_They are all completely oblivious. I should have enforced their training more, and taught them about the importance of this event… It is just the same as last year. That group took much longer to prepare than the previous. I can't let that happen again._

He clears his throat, and raises his hands, ready to begin his speech. Everyone stops and gives him their undivided attention.

"Welcome, everyone, to the annual Assembly of Fate!"

The crowd of parents politely applaud for their elder and children.

"Today, we will find out who will walk the path of a warrior!"

The children roar with pride, each of them confident that they will be chosen this year. But what they don't know, and even most of the adults, is that the Chief Elder has a special power, different than the rest of the elders.

Through focusing and entering one's subconscious, he can find a different kind of warrior, a Warrior of the Light. This is a kind of warrior with a special fate.

He is called Ingad, a Visionary of Light, one of the very few humans with this kind of ability.

"Now then! Let us see who has what it takes to prevail for their village, for the entire Alrynite Valley!" Ingad shouts as the determination of fate is about to begin. Everyone becomes completely silent, presenting themselves to Ingad with true determination.

_I wonder if I will find one this year… _Ingad thinks to himself, quickly glancing over the group, looking for anyone that stands out.

By that he means the Warrior of the Light. Whenever a worldly threat is on the rise, a powerful being called Vesta, who is believed to be the goddess of Light, chooses four children through the Visionaries to become these Warriors. They are the ones who would prevail and protect their world from an evil that threatens the entire world. It is a perfect balance of light and darkness. But many people believe this to be a legend, just an ancient folklore of Alryne.

Ingad has only detected one child with this fate. It was many years ago. But he

_Samael…who knows where he went… That prophecy didn't seem to have been fulfilled. I truly do not know what will become of him._

He then begins the starts focusing his mind and studying each individual child, along with the rest of the elders.

Row by row, they don't come across anyone special. Each child would only turn out slightly significant to their village.

As he nears the end, he becomes disappointed. Yet another year and he didn't discover the one whom he was actually _searching_ for, not just determining fates..

He reaches the end of the last row, where two boys stand, with their hands in their pockets, just staring off into the distance. They don't seem to even care about the event.

He first lays his eyes upon the brown haired boy, who already felt a little different than the other children, before he could even enter his subconscious.

Suddenly curious, Ingad delved deeper into the boy's mind, skipping the first level of the subconscious, exploring the most difficult sections of the mind that the rest of the elders couldn't.

He sees an area that he could faintly see visually, and quickly makes his way toward it.

Once he reaches this realm, he senses himself surrounded by pain. The area was a dark valley, and he was alone.

His eyes light up, as he _recognizes_ this pain. _This _was the pain that a true warrior has suffered from and endured. It was something that the ordinary person couldn't do.

As Ingad delved even deeper into this valley he found a dark, faint path. He started walking on it, searching for where the boy would appear in this.

Finally, he came across something. It wasn't the boy, but a hill. Underneath the dark, cloudy sky, stood a man, completely golden and shining! It was blurry, but he saw him.

He looked up at the man in awe, feeling his raw power. He was giving off a sort of holy appearance. The man was pointing his sword at a dark, shadowy figure. There was no fear in his eyes.

_It is him! I have seen him once again! _Ingad was then abruptly pulled away from his observation and into the sky. A shroud of light had opened up from the dark cloud and he was sucked into it, closing back up upon his exit.

He was disconnected from the boy's mind, and suddenly whirred back into reality. Ingad found himself sweating from the exiliherence the legendary warrior was emitting through the boy's mind.

As he stumbled backward from the astonishment of his discovery, the other elders quickly rushed to his side.

The elder's started to question him about his speculation, rapidly talking to him all at once. Ingad shrugged them off, keeping his focus on the boy. It was finally his second ever discovery of a Warrior of the Light in his life, something completely rare. He points at the boy.

"It is you! It is truly you!" He can even see it now. Even in broad daylight, he sees a golden aura that he had revealed around the boy that only a Visionary can see.

Before anyone could even figure out what was happening, Ingad gasped.

He couldn't believe his eyes for a second, for he could have sworn that there was a _second_ aura! He kept blinking, and rubbing his eyes, but it was really there. A completely separate aura is shining from the child next to the first boy.

_The very last boy to determine, even after discovering one Warrior in this group already?He surely couldn't be one as well...That's impossible! _Ingad thought, but he entered the last boy's mind to be sure.

He appeared in a similar setting as the other child's mind. A cruel world, with black, shadowy creatures snarling viciously all around him.

Although this time, he started in a forest. It was slightly different, but was just as faint and blurry as the valley in the first boy's mind. Ingad found the same path that lead towards the hill, following it quickly.

_This surely couldn't be happening…_

When he finally reached the hill, he focused onto the spot where the first Golden Warrior stood, but nothing was there. But he found the luminous golden aura of _another_ man, behind the original's spot! It is indeed true!

The second Golden Warrior of the Light is among us! This man stood in his position atop the hill, studying the shadowy figure carefully, holding his weapons firmly.

Ingad was ripped out again from the scene and takes a step back as he points back and forth between now the both of them, unable to speak.

Everyone turns toward Neal and Sevrin, who look just as confused.

Neal looks back and forth between the elder and the rest of his peers. The old man had randomly just screamed and broke the awkward silence and staring for the last twenty minutes.

"Uhhhh...what?" _Is he pointing at me and Sev?_ He turns to Sevrin.

Sevrin tilted his head, wondering what was going on. _Is he pointing at us? What's wrong with us? Why is everyone looking at us?_

Neal, suddenly nervous from all the pairs of eyes on him, slowly starts to back away, raising his guard. _Did he find out what I did at the inn from looking into my mind? Or at the river? Oh man! I think I'm in for it!_

He knew he was busted. Sevrin notices that Neal thinks something's up, and raises his guard as well, preparing to defend himself.

The rest of the kids also see this, and know that Neal is always up to no good. They start to surround Neal and Sevrin, preparing to interrogate them for their mischief. Ingad waves his hands at them.

"No! Stop! You don't understand! I have completed your determining, and have discovered something amazing!" The kids stop, with their fists raised, and face Ingad.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he begins to explain what he had seen.

"Please come forth, Nealon Faris, and Sevrin Uzuma." He beckons for the two boys to come up to the stand where the elders stood.

Neal and Sevrin look at each other. They both give each other a _what the hell is going on? _look.

Neal shrugs his shoulders and casually strolls over to where Ingad stood, hands in his pockets. Sevrin follows.

"I have seen inside each and every one of your minds, and determined your fate, but that must wait. These two are special! Have any of you ever heard our village's ancient legend?"

He looks back and forth between the group of children.

"Wasn't it about those four swords made of gold?" One says.

"No, you idiot! It was about four people who were made entirely of gold!" Another shouts.

Ingad laughs at their youthful ignorance. No one today knows about their village's true past and what great power it once wielded.

"You both are wrong. Let me tell you what it's really about. A long time ago, a wicked evil had threatened this world. Many people's lives were in danger. Four young, brave warriors came together and vanquished this evil, returning peace into the world. However, every so often, it is revived. The danger and peril associated with it returns with it as well. But that also means the four warriors are revived too, through a new generation." He points at Neal and Sevrin.

"It is a cycle of perfect balance between light and darkness, never ceasing." He concludes.

The children are listening intently, but after seeing Ingad point to Neal and Sevrin, they shake their heads.

"Yeah right. That's just some old myth. There's no way something like that could have happened..." They denied this unworldly idea, thinking it was just crazy talk.

Sensing their disbelief, Ingad suddenly had an idea. "Did you also know that magic exists as well?" He says, smiling.

The children begin to laugh hysterically. Everything Ingad said sounded so ridiculous to them. They've been in this village their whole life and had always heard stories about magic and ancient warriors, but they always think nothing of it, as they are known as just silly children's stores. in reality, their lives are sheltered, bound to their village, where nothing like that existed.

"You've never seen the rest of the world, have you? Hmph...Well then I guess I must prove both of these to you, right now!"

Ingad raises his hands toward the two boys. A strange glow begins to emanate around him, and a stream of light beams out of his hands toward Neal and Sevrin.

The children's laughter ceases. They are in awe by what they see.

As the light contacts Neal and Sevrin, their bodies begin to glow. With a flash, they now have a faint, golden aura about them.

This was Ingad's spell of Revealing. It is a reverse Illusionary technique, commonly used by mages and Illusionists to reveal an invisible person, or what power someone contains. Ingad used this spell to reveal the incredible power that is held within Neal and Sevrin.

Everyone looks at them with awe, in disbelief at the sight of two people who were…glowing. It is something that nobody would even believe would be possible or let alone see with their own eyes.

"Now then, I assume that you all believe me now, yes? This legend is true. It is a reality." Ingad said, becoming more serious.

"The finding of these two signifies something. If Warriors of the Light are being reborn again, that means our world will once again soon be threatened by evil. But don't be alarmed...You all are still young. Warriors of the Light defend the world once they become the strongest of fighters. It could be years before we might be in danger. And that is why…"

He turns toward Neal and Sevrin, and says, "We must prepare you for what is to come."

Later that day, after the rest of the children were chosen for different positions they will fulfill in the village, Ingad held a meeting with the high council of Alryne and Neal and Sevrin. Each member of the high council were familiar with the legend of the Warriors of the Light, and that Ingad never jokes around about anything serious.

The Chief of Alryne was a tall, strong, and smart man. He knew a lot about combat, very experienced, having been in a great war. He mastered tactics of war and could tell how powerful someone is just by analyzing them.

He gave Neal and Sevrin, who were presented to him by the Chief Visionary, a long and hard look.

Seeming displeased, he finally says to Ingad, "They just look like ordinary children…" The room was silent for a few moments. Ingad puts up his hands to protest.

"Sir, you don't understand! These children _are_ two of the Warriors of the Light! I entered their subconscious and saw them. And you know who I mean by _them._"

He had told everything he knew about the legend to the Chief before, so he knew that Ingad was telling him that he saw the Warriors deep inside these two boy's minds.

Seeing Ingad so astonished by these two kids during the Assembly earlier that day, the Chief considered taking another look at them.

He still had a skeptical look as he turned and looked at Neal and Sevrin again. He looked them both up and down again.

"This one is just a hard-headed, troublesome idiot. I've had to deal with him _many _times before…" He says with displeasure, looking at Neal.

He recalls multiple times of Neal being dragged into his corridor by guards, always in some sort of trouble.

Neal's face became red with anger, his hands shaking fists. "Hey! What'd you say to me?!" He says, gritting his teeth.

He tries to lunge at the Chief, being held back by two guards. They actually had a little trouble doing so, despite being almost twice his size.

"Hmm… He is strong, at the least. And he is quite deadly with a sword, despite his poor swordsmanship."

He then turns toward Sevrin. "Ah, this one is interesting…The foreigner, the Kurina ninja."

Ingad immediately steps in to protest.

"He is considered one of Alryne, sir! He came to us when he was eight years old, and was accepted by _you_, remember?" The Chief recalls that time, and nods in agreement.

"Ah yes, that is true. It has been five years, so he is indeed a citizen of Alryne. But I recognize his garb, which originates from Kurina, that's right. And leaving there means only one thing. _Banishment_."

Sevrin balled his hands into fists at hearing that spiteful word, and looks down at the ground.

"That means you were not deemed fit to even be considered a ninja, is that correct?"

Sevrin breathed out a sigh of anger that had welled up, then looked up at the Chief. "Yes."

But the Chief wasn't finished with him yet. "This is true, but compared to your Alrynite peers, you are quicker, and sharper, but not so much stronger. You are quite skilled in hand to hand combat, actually the best of your age group. Now that I think about it, they _might_ just seem capable, Ingad."

Ingad raises his hands, and a familiar glow appears about his hands, and he says to the Chief,

"Allow me to show you, to be sure!"

He uses his spell of Revealing again on the two boys, and the faint golden aura shines around them both for a few seconds.

The Chief's eyes widen at the sight. "Such power! From these children…I could just _feel_ it!"

He turns to Ingad. "And that's only the beginning? They will become even more powerful?"

Ingad nods. "_Much_ more."

The Chief looks back at the two boys. "But of course, they're not ready for this."

Ingad shakes his head this time. "Oh heavens no. They need experience, and especially need training."

The Chief nods in agreement. "I know how we can start on _both_ of those."

After their meeting with the Alryne Chief, Ingad brought Neal and Sevrin to the Inn. He began to explain his plan that he made with the Chief.

"Let me tell you both something. As a Visionary, this is my job when I discover a Warrior of the Light. I prepare you for your quest to vanquish the evil that is to come."

Neal was still confused by all of this. "Ehh…I still don't get it. All of this is going to be real for _me_? I am actually going to have to fight...evil?"

Nothing that he heard seemed like it would really happen to _him_, only being known to him as a legend of others a long time ago.

"Yes." Ingad said. "This is real. And completely serious too."

But Neal wasn't convinced just yet.

"Have you discovered any of these kinds of warriors before? 'Cuz I haven't seen anyone like this since _I've _been here…"

"Well, due to the past few generations of peace in our world, I haven't found one in many years. It's very strange that I discovered _two_ of you from the same place, that's for sure. That must have been a once in a million chance. But I have discovered a Warrior of the Light from Alryne before. He was actually the _only _other Warrior that I have discovered…"

Neal and Sevrin became more interested. "Who was it? And when?"

Ingad recalled that time, and suddenly looked down with dismay. "His name was Samael. Everyone hailed him that day, seeing that he would someday become one of the four saviors of their world. It was such an exciting time in our village's life too. I would _finally_ guide a Warrior of the Light…But something peculiar happened."

Sevrin leaned forward. "What happened?"

"He disappeared. No one knows what happened to him. Somehow, his fate had been changed by something unknown. There was a great war during that time, when evil had risen and threatened our world peace. Of course, we were victorious, due to the strength of the Warriors of the Light, but Samael wasn't among them. A new fourth member had been chosen after he disappeared. Nobody has seen him since that day."

Ingad saw them both, mouths agape, as if listening intently to a folklore story. it wasn't the reaction he wanted to see from them. He wants them to realize that they are going to be the protectors of the world someday.

_Well, that kind of was a story, I guess, but it doesn't look like they understand what they are going to have to go through yet. _He thought, mentally shaking his head at them.

"Now listen, this isn't just a little story. This is going to be reality for you two. Since I have discovered your fate, that means that something is coming our way, and you two, along with two others, are going face it head on. You need to comply with me. Understand?"

"Yes, I do." Sevrin says, giving Ingad a firm look of confidence. But Neal was just scratching his head.

"It doesn't look like you do, Neal."

Neal looked up. "Huh?" He wasn't paying too much attention.

Ingad sighs. "It might take a little while to get this started…" He mumbled under his breath.

"Do you think you understand what you are going to have to do, and what difficulties lie ahead for you? I can see in Sevrin's eyes that _he _does."

Neal looks at Sevrin, and sees how serious he is. He tilts his head.

"This is something that is going to involve _you_ directly, Neal. I know that you are still a child, but you know that we are going to rely on _you _to save our world."

His tone changes to sound more menacing as he adds, "You are going to have to _kill_, and you will spill _blood_, Neal."

His eyes widen, and he starts to shake a little. "A-Are you serious?! What _kind_ of quest is this?!"

Sevrin puts a fist on the table. "I've heard stories about what lies beyond our valley. There are _monsters_ out there, aren't there?" He says to Ingad.

"There is a whole _world_ beyond our village, much more than what we see and live by. And yes, there are creatures that roam the earth that are deadly. I've been to many places and seen many things in my lifetime, boys." He says, filling them with wonder of mysteries that have yet to be solved inside their minds.

Ingad is truly as wise as he is said to be, because of his many experiences throughout his long life.

Neal was even more shocked at this. "Then why haven't webeen told this _before_?! Why has all of this been hidden from us?"

He was angry now, just now learning about what else exists on the same planet that he walks on.

"We fear that our children would want to explore further than what is deemed safe and get themselves killed, ignoring what they hear about the danger in these areas." Ingad solemnly says.

"But it is awful how much your lives are sheltered in this valley, that is certain. What you two must do is meet the other two Warriors of the Light, who both will come from different areas of the world. They will become your closest allies, your best friends. You will form bonds with them that are unbreakable, much like your own with each other right now. We have all seen your true friendship, and that is a bond you have that you will never sever."

Neal looks at Sevrin and grins. "Until the end." Ever since they met, they formed a special bond, as they were each other's first friend, breaking their gruesome pain of solitude.

"Well, Neal. You need to understand this. Tomorrow, you two will depart from the Alrynite Valley and begin your adventure to find your new comrades. You must prepare yourself for a long journey, and do whatever it takes to survive. Think about your strengths and weaknesses, as well as Sevrin's. Work together to defeat your foes, and know that there is no competition in skill."

He speaks to both of them this time. "You two will need to grasp the concept of teamwork to survive through all of this, and to protect our world. The Golden Warriors of the Light are always experts at cooperating as a team in every battle. You will all learn to each use your variety of skills together to vanquish the evil. Somedayyou _will _achieve that level."

After hearing all of this, Neal finally understood. He recalled the many times had snuck into the great library to read, in order to gain knowledge in combat, but came across the story of the Warriors of the Light in an old book instead. He was intrigued by it, and read about what they had faced, and what they had conquered, through their determination and skills in battle. But it was more of a type of fantasy to him. It was just a with some kind of lesson to gain from, much like other stories.

He also used it as an inspiration to become stronger but to especially become smarter. He had read that tactics were the key to everything in battle.

Despite all of this, he couldn't even think to _believe_ that he would someday _be_ one of these warriors of legend.

"Alright, alright, I understand. We're going to have to definitely have each other's backs through this, but it's not like we do that already. Heh, I was getting bored of this place anyways! I'm ready for a _real_ adventure, right Sev?"

"Yeah, that's right." He couldn't help but smile a little at the exciting thought.

Seeing their smiles, Ingad was still frustrated, unable to get them to see how it's really going to be.

_Hmm.. It all still seems like an exciting little adventure to them. I am sure that they will finally understand their fate for real when they find themselves in a real battle...When they have to fight for their lives. That is when they will understand their mission, and understand reality._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for reading chapter one. Things are still just getting started, but the real adventure will begin when they finally unite with the other two Warriors of the Light. Next time: Neal and Sevrin set out to find the other two, and truly put their fighting and survival skills to the test along the way.


	3. Put to the Test!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Two - Put to the Test!**

Neal and Sevrin made way to the front gate of Alryne. It was the crack of dawn. The birds were beginning to chirp, the grass was still covered in dew, and the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.

They arrived at the gate, where two guards were standing. Neal put his hands in his pockets and leaned back on the gate wall. One of the guards approached him.

"Hey! What are you two kids doing here so early? Do your parents know where you are?" The guard said, silently praying that he wouldn't have to leave his post to deal with trouble.

Neal took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, not even looking at the guard. His eyes wandering into the distance.

"Hmm...Don't have any." He replied.

The guard looked at Sevrin, who only shook his head. He sighed. He would have to take these kids to the Chief's corridor and have him deal with them.

"I don't know what you two are planning, with that big sword of yours on your back and those two daggers." He said, noticing the gear each boy was carrying.

"If you plan on going out for any reason, it has to be approved by high council. You two look a little young to be doing something like that."

Neal turned toward the guard, shaking himself back awake after almost dozing off. He wasn't used to waking up this early.

"Hey buddy. We're heading out on a mission. We're going _far_ away from this place, so let us through." Neal said.

The guard glared back at Neal.

"I don't like your _tone_, kid. I need proof for that. It's for your safety, alright?" He didn't want another adventurous group of kids to die after what had happened a few years ago.

Neal laughed. "Well, there's your proof right behind you."

The guard turned around. Ingad was now standing there.

"Wow. I didn't expect you two to show up before _me_. I thought it would be a hassle and have to pull you out of your beds." He said, surprised.

"Well, believe me. _I'm_ ready to get out of here!" Neal said, pointing at himself.

"What are these kids going to do outside of the village, sir?" The guard asked, slightly bowing to acknowledge Ingad's presence.

"They are to set forth to Gariland. I'm here to see them off." He replies.

The guard steps back, aghast at the suggestion. "But sir! That's completely out of the Alrynite Valley! They'll be _killed_ before they could make it that many miles!"

Ingad chuckles. "Don't worry about a thing. I have faith in these two. Now, please open the gate! It's under the Chief's orders as well as my own!"

The guards immediately open the gate.

It was finally time. Years and years of training and hard work was for this moment. This beginning of an adventure.

"Alright boys. I know we haven't even known each other for long, but I have faith in you. You are going to meet your other two companions at Gariland." Ingad said.

"Are you sure? How do you know they will be there?" Sevrin asked.

"There are other Visionaries of Light besides me in this world. We all have a mutual agreement to make Gariland the prime location. It is roughly in the center of this continent, you see. Also, when a Warrior of the Light is discovered, the rest are discovered as well at around the same time. I imagine the others will be on their way like you two are."

"Alright. Let's do this!" Neal was eager to get started.

"Good luck...you'll need it. Remember what I told you about what you must do to survive. There is an annual fair in Gariland in about a week from now. I imagine that's when you will arrive. Now go!" Ingad waved them off as they walked through the open gates of Alryne.

Its been a few days since they left the village. Neal and Sevrin are finally leaving the dense forest and Alryne behind. They find themselves in a large open field, surrounded by mountains.

"Wow. I've never seen such an open area. It's huge…" Neal said. The thick forest that completely surrounds the village is very hard to even see through.

"Yeah, were not constricted by those trees anymore. It's good that we were raised in them though. We've been trained in that kind of area. Being so close and cramped, we are able to respond to an ambush even from that close range. Out here is nothing. I can detect anything out here." Sevrin says, looking all around the field with a keen eye.

Neal turned toward him. _Why does he think about that in such a beautiful place like this?_

"Whatever. This place is incredible!" He runs off toward the flowing water of a river, reflecting the sunlight.

Sevrin shrugged and followed Neal toward the river.

But as Neal ran toward the shiny water, he saw rustling from the bushes nearby.

"Watch out!" Sevrin shouted as he quickly pulled out his knives and dashed toward Neal.

Neal skidded to a stop, and swung the extremely heavy sword off of his back. It was painful for him to carry such a heavy weapon. It weighed much more than _he _did. But it was for a sacred purpose to wield this weapon.

_Last year, Neal's class was brought to the monument of legendary Alrynite warriors, where a statue was built in commemoration of a famous warrior hailing from Alryne many years ago. His bravery and determination was something that many looked up to, and he brought victory to his village in a great war._

_In front of the great statue was a large boulder, where a large sword was lodged deep into. People say it was an ancient test for strength, to see if a child could pull this mighty sword out of the rock. In this generation, it seemed an impossible feat. Not even warriors in the present could budge the blade._

_Every year, in honor of the ancient Alrynite warriors, the children would perform this test, even though they know they cannot pull the sword out. It is a form of respect to the customs of Alrynites in the past._

_When Neal's age group's year came, most of the kids just ran up to the sword and only grabbed the hilt, too frightened to embarrass themselves. The one's who did try just gave one tug, and seeing the obvious, just walked back without really trying._

_Neal was the last one to go. He knew that the other kids were going to sneer at him and make fun of him, like they always would, so he didn't want to go. But his teachers made him go. As he walked toward the sword, he could hear the jokes and insults from the other kids. That made him angry. So angry that he ran toward the sword in a frenzy and pulled at it with all of his might. He was shouting and pulling as hard as he could. His pure willpower fueled his strength in his endeavor. He pulled the sword out of the rock, to the pure amazement of everyone watching._

_The warriors who were watching couldn't believe what they saw. But as he held the mighty sword his two hands, Neal's legs began to tremble, as he had trouble even holding the sword. He almost dropped it from its sheer weight. But he held on to it, and claimed it as his proof of his true power. The other kids never looked at Neal the same after that._

Sevrin looked at Neal, as he gripped the fearsome blade, as tall as he was, still amazed at how he could even wield it.

Then the rustling from the bushes ceased, and three creatures emerged. They were short, with green skin and wielding small daggers.

"Ew! They're hideous!" Neal said, disgusted at the small monsters. They growled viciously back at him.

They were goblins. Small, but ruthless creatures.

"It seems like we're lucky to have encountered these things first, Neal! There are probably other monsters that are way bigger than us!" Sevrin said, not lowering his guard because of their size.

The goblins advanced toward the boys, step by step, raising their daggers.

"I-I've never killed someone before…" Neal said. He never used his blade in a real-life scenario, only in training or practice against a target.

"Me neither, but these aren't people! They're just monsters!" Sevrin shouted as he advanced toward the goblins.

Seeing Sevrin being brave, Neal became angry at himself for being so nervous, and ran alongside him, sword at the ready. He dropped it to the ground and dragged it on the dirt as he moved, as that was the fastest way to run while holding his sword.

As they got close to the goblins, Sevrin leaped to the side and struck the left goblin down. He knew that Neal's attack range was wide, and the chance of him missing his target was high since he the blade is so heavy.

Neal lifted his sword and spun around, using momentum to aid in his strike. But, since he lost sight of the goblins for a moment while he spun around, he miscalculated his swing, right over their heads. Sevrin still had to dodge the blade, despite taking on the farthest goblin.

"Hey! Watch it! Keep in mind the range of that thing, will ya?" Sevrin said, never losing his focus on the creatures. Neal mentally hit himself on the head for not even thinking that he was right alongside his friend when he attacked.

After the missed attack, the two goblins lunged for Neal with their daggers. Sevrin had knocked the far goblin back for a moment and immediately kicked the other two back as they headed for Neal.

Seeing another opportunity, Neal runs toward them, dragging his sword on the ground. He lifts it up again, and starts to spin for another momentum strike. But this time, noticing their size, he swings at an angle, slashing lower when he starts the spin, and cleaving both goblins as he ends it.

Sevrin quickly pierced the last goblin. But he looked back at Neal, shocked at how strong his attack was now that he had landed it. He almost cut them in half. Neal had the same face as Sevrin, surprised at his own strength.

"Wow, that was intense…" Neal said, panting and sweating. Everything happened so quickly, and he managed to react fairly well.

"But we're sloppy. We need a formation that give us the best advantage for our attack styles. You also need to work on your attack. It's a little inaccurate." Sevrin noted.

"Hey! I was just a little off guard! I've never seen anything that small! It just threw me off." Neal protested.

Sevrin became focused again, gripping his knives tightly. "More of them!"

Neal quickly turned around, seeing four more goblins advancing toward them.

"Alright! This time, lets stand on each side of their line! That way we won't be in each other's attack ranges!" Neal says, dropping the tip of his blade onto the ground.

"Good thinking. Two sides to worry about is tougher than one!" Sevrin said, dashing over to the opposite side of Neal.

The two goblins closest to each of them turned to face each boy. They were in a completely straight line.

_Hmm...these guys are kinda stupid. I wonder if this will work._ Neal thought, as he prepared for a different attack.

Sevrin was planning what kind of attack would be best to execute in this type of formation. He quickly decides to rush forward and stab the first goblin in the heart, then flipping over it and landing on top of the second one and deal two devastating strikes to it.

_Alright, I know this isn't my best attack, since it's the slowest one, but these things don't even know what dodging means! _He then lifts up his sword level in front of him, and thrusts forward, plunging directly through both goblins.

As Sevrin kills his last goblin, he looks up to see the tip of a blade pierce through the goblin in front of him and stop inches from his face. He screams and flips backward from springing his hands onto the ground.

"Shit! Neal, you almost got me too! Your blade is too long!" He shouted, heart pounding from the blade being so close to his face.

"Agh...Sorry." Neal looked down in anger. "I'm used to our training, having lots of room around me to hit those targets."

Sevrin nodded. He knew this was completely different to Neal. But Sevrin is able to adapt quickly to different situations. Ninja are known to be able to think and react quickly, faster than any other type of fighter.

"Let's back up a bit and form a plan. Then we can attack more efficiently, and work together." Sevrin said. Neal nodded and followed him back behind a hill.

"Alright, I noticed that your range is very large, and your speed in attack is slow, but very strong. My attacks are swift, but not as powerful. We need to find a way to coordinate this so we don't branch off and target them for ourselves."

Neal came up with an idea. "I see what you mean. We're a _team_! So we should be in a side-by-side formation. _You _need to deal the first blow, and knock them off their guard. While you do this, _I _will prepare a strike, and will attack once you return safely out of range!"

Sevrin's eyes lit up as he visualized the scenario in his head. "Yeah! Nice work Neal!"

After they rest a bit and recover their breath, they continue forward and cross the river.

"Ok, Ingad said we need to go inbetween the two mountains, down the 'mountain path', or whatever he called it." Sevrin said.

"Yeah, that looks like a path alright. But those mountains are pretty close together." Neal said, peering ahead at the path.

They start to head to beginning of where the path is, where the mountains appear to split. It is nearing the evening, and starting to get dark.

"We need to set up camp soon, Sev. It's starting to get dark, and I'm starving!" Neal said, feeling his stomach begin to growl.

"I actually am as well…" Sevrin says, looking down at his complaining stomach. "I think I see a nice spot up ahead. You see that little clearing in between that group of trees? That seems well hidden."

"That looks perfect." As they near the clearing, three goblins jump out from it, along with a large yellow creature, with two big arms, a frightening mouth with sharp teeth, and even wings.

"It looks like our spot was already occupied!" Neal said, pulling his sword from behind his back.

"That one looks tougher, and more _competent_. Be completely on your guard with that one..." Sevrin said, looking at the yellow creature with utmost seriousness.

"He's kinda scary-looking, but nothing we can't deal with." Neal was ready to fight this time. He had the team plan racing through his head.

They jumped into their formation. They both were close enough to each other to be able to be at their sides if need be, but close enough to be in each other's attack ranges.

"Let's get rid of these little runts first!" Sevrin said.

"Leave it to me!" Neal stepped forward and swung his blade to his side, preparing for a spin attack. As he swung his blade around to destroy the goblins, the large yellow monster struck Neal in his chest, knocking him backwards. He shouted as he flew back in pain, hitting the ground.

"You ok?" Sevrin said, but not taking his eyes off of the creature. The goblins wildly swung their daggers at him, but he easily dodged them.

Neal stood up on one knee, using his sword to support him. "Yeah. It looks like an obvious frontal attack won't work on this guy…"

"Then let's try ranged." Sevrin pulled out a few shuriken from his side pouch. He threw them hard towards the beast. It flies to the side, dodging his throws.

"Wait...Do that again!" An idea lights up in Neal's mind.

Sevrin throws another shuriken at the monster. It dodges just like before, but right after he threw it, Neal swung around and cleaved all three goblins in a row.

"Nice! He was distracted, so you had an opening. Good job Neal!" Sevrin said, happy about their successful combo attack.

"Now that's how you do it. But since it's just him now, we need to find a way to take him out." Neal said with a determined smile.

"How can we distract him aga-" Sevrin was cut short, as the monster flew toward him and punched him onto the ground. "Agh!"

Neal snarled at the monster. "Maybe if we time it right, I can slash at it when it dodges your shuriken attack!"

Sevrin got back up and grabbed another shuriken. "Ready?" Neal nodded and he threw it, forcing the beast to dodge to the right, where Neal leaped into the air with his sword raised behind his back, and with both hands, sending the sword straight down to the beast.

It crosses both of its arms protectively in front of its face, blocking Neal's attack. Blood drips from both arms, but they only see small cuts after the sword is pulled off of it. The monster growls at both of them, punching both of its powerful fists together.

"It has thick skin, so its arms aren't the best place to strike." Sevrin notices.

"It has such sharp teeth. Why doesn't it just try to bite us or something?" Neal says, gritting his teeth.

The monster then lunges for Neal, with its mouth wide open, preparing to bite him. "Ahh! I guess I spoke too soon!" He raises his sword to guard the monster's frontal attack.

Sevrin's eyes grew wide. He notices an opportunity to strike! He grips both of his daggers tightly and dashes toward the monster's side, as its jaws are currently locked onto Neal's sword. He is struggling to hold his guard.

Sevrin slices the monsters back, which looked much more fragile compared to the tough outer layer of its entire front. It howls in pain as it backs away from them. Blood starts dripping from its back, much more than front, since the cut was much deeper than the first.

"The backside is it's weak point!" Sevrin shouts.

Neal circles around the beast until he and Sevrin are on its opposite sides. It turns back and forth in between them, wincing in pain. It all depends on who will make the final strike when its back is turned.

When it turns away from Sevrin again, he swiftly jumps forward, his knife at the ready. The monster quickly knocks his away with his giant arm. But Neal leaps forward just after Sevrin does, raising his sword behind his back for another downward slash. He timed it perfectly, dealing an annihilating cut into its back. It fell onto the ground, dead.

Neal ran over to Sevrin's side, falling down onto one knee. They were both panting, exhausted, and wounded. The blows that monster dealt were extremely powerful.

"Heh, I'm lucky that I had this breastplate on. It only protects my chest, but luckily that's only where he hit. He knocked the wind out of me for a second." Neal said.

Sevrin's hard-padded ninja armor with metal trim was excellent protection against normal physical attacks and small weapons, but not those monstrous strikes that he had been dealt. Neal's metal breastplate definitely blocked most of the damage, but not for Sevrin.

"Hey, you alright? You took quite a few hits there." Neal was concerned for his friend. He tried to help him back up.

"Yeah, I'm- Ack!" Just trying to lean up caused his chest to ache with pain. His upper body aches and is bruised. Neal carefully pulls him back up and swings his arm around him for support.

"Let me help. I don't think we are too far from that spot." He said as he started to walk with him.

When they reached the camp spot, they noticed a clear, dirt path, hidden from the trees, that lead straight through between the two mountains. Neal followed it with his eyes to the end, where there were a few lights shining through windows.

"Hey, that's only about a mile away. I think we can make it there. Wait...is that?" Neal stopped as he noticed the town's location.

Sevrin finished his sentence. "That must be Gariland."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for reading chapter two. I want to shoot for a chapter a week. Next time: The four Warriors meet for the first time?!


	4. The Warriors Unite!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Three- The Warriors Unite!**

Neal supported Sevrin as they walked down the dusty old path. As they reach the town, they realize how truly huge it is. They can see lights from buildings and shops everywhere around them. Towards the center of the whole town, they could see tents and canopies being set up. The whole town square is being prepared for an event.

They pay for a big room at the Inn. It is late at night, and they are exhausted from the last week of travelling. Neal instantly fell asleep when he landed onto the bed.

Sevrin, clutching one of his wounds, looks over at Neal, who was lying there, completely unscathed. He couldn't believe how strong he had become since they started training together. He saw their progression as a competition, as strength was what he desired most. He would always gloat whenever he beat Neal in a competition in strength and punished himself for not working hard enough when Neal would beat him.

He scowls and lays his head down onto a pillow. He didn't even think about how tired he was until now. His eyelids were too heavy, and he couldn't keep them open any longer.

Late next morning, they left the Inn, and headed toward the town square. Sleeping in a bed had given them the best rest they've had in the entire week. When they reach the square, they see how decorated it had become since arriving last night. Merchants from all over the world traveled to come to this fair, covering their tents and canopies in unique wares and jewels. Tourists flock this town, especially during the fair, and business would boom.

Neal and Sevrin looked around in wonder at each tent, as they've never seen anything like them before. The jewels and other fine wares sparkled in the sunlight.

"Woah. Let's check this out!" Neal says with excitement as he takes off toward the fair.

Sevrin walks over to a stall that was exhibiting knives. Neal charged straight to a large array of food. He kept turning back and forth from different tents, which were selling many different kinds of treats. But the pleasant aroma of meat reached his nose, and he dashed past all of the desserts, ignoring how tasty they look.

The town square was huge. The section that Neal and Sevrin entered from was only a small segment of the fair. There were even stalls lined up in the narrow alleyways of Gariland, where only rare weapons and illegal gambling could be found.

After about an hour, Neal and Sevrin found each other in a small crowd of people, who were listening to a story teller. Sevrin's foul mood had subsided, as he bought fancy new knives that fit him well. Neal felt bloated and content from all of the amazing food he had ate.

"Hey Neal! Aren't we going to meet those other two guys here?" Sevrin suddenly remembered why they were supposed to come here in the first place.

Neal's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that! This fair really distracted me! But how do we know when we find them?"

On the other side of the town, two children, accompanied by a tall woman, entered through one of Gariland's large city gates. They were walking down a long street, along with tons of other people who were on their way to the fair. One of the children looks up at the woman.

"Why is there a fair today?"

The woman looked down at the child and smiled. "Well, for about twenty years now, we haven't seen any great wars or other threats in our world. Every five years this city holds an exquisite fair to celebrate our times of peace."

The child turns back toward the road they were walking on, looking at the large crowd of people beyond the end of the street, where a huge sign was placed to signify the entrance to the fair.

The other child, who was much younger and smaller, jumped with glee at the sight of the festivities.

"Oh boy! This looks really exciting!"

The woman smiled at the sight of the little red-haired boy and his childlike behavior. _Soon, he will no longer be making those kinds of gestures…_

She sighed at the thought of what this child will have to go through at such a young age. She wondered why he was even chosen. He was only eleven, but looked much younger than that.

They pass beneath the large entrance sign. They finally made inside.

The two children looked up at the woman, curious for what they were going to do first. Everything looked fun and exciting.

Neal and Sevrin look around to find something else to do. Neal spots a cotton candy stall. His eyes widen, but then he looks down at his full stomach. He returns his gaze to the stall and shrugs, starting to walk over to it. Sevrin laughs.

"Still not full yet, huh?"

Neal laughs as well. "Hey, there's always room for that stuff! It's the best! Let's go get some, Sev!" He tries to run to it, but staggers into a slow walk in order not to cramp. Sevrin laughs and follows.

As they make their way to the stall, they pass a young brown-haired girl and little red-haired boy, who were looking around curiously and each holding a tall woman's hand.

"Hmm...How about we have some fun first!" The woman says to the two kids. They scream with delight and start looking around for whatever catches their eye. The red-haired boy spots a cotton candy stall, and licks his lips.

"Ooh! Cotton candy! That's my favorite!" He takes a step toward it and pulls on the woman's hand, urging her to take them to it.

The other child looks at the man running the stall, who was holding a cone toward a colorful spinning wheel, watching him spin the pink fluff onto the top of the cone. She suddenly wants to go there as well.

"Okay! Stop pulling! Let's go get cotton candy then!" The woman almost has to run as the two kids dash toward the stand, still holding onto each of her hands.

As they arrive at the stall, two boys with big blue and pink cotton candies turn around after paying the man for the treat. The girl notices the brown-haired one who looked about her age as he takes a huge bite out of the treat. After he passes by, she giggles to herself at the sight.

A few hours later, Neal and Sevrin walked to the center of the town square, where there was a large fountain flowing with tiny waterfalls and lights.

"Alright. It's been a while. Is something going to happen soon, or what?" Neal was becoming impatient, as well as anxious to meet two other kids that would join them on their quest. He was absorbed by the curiosity of what they were going to look like, act like, and how strong they were. Are they going to be stronger than him?

_There's no way! They couldn't hold my sword up for two seconds!_ He thought, and smiled with determination.

Sevrin sighed. "That's only like the fifth time in the past few minutes that you've asked me that. I don't know…"

"I know, I know. But aren't you curious? Do you think that these other two guys are going to be stronger than us?" Neal said.

"It isn't going to be a competition of strength between us, Neal…" Sevrin knew he was right but he couldn't help but be a little curious himself. They were both obsessed with strength.

"Why did we come to the very center of the town then? Is there something that you know?" Neal asked.

"Elder Ingad told me that we should come to the very center, as there'd be a higher chance to find them here quicker." Sevrin told him. Neal was taken aback.

"Wait a minute! Why didn't he give _me_ any advice like that?!" He shouted.

Sevrin laughed. "He said you'd probably forget it the next day."

Neal growled at the thought of Ingad ridiculing him, but looked down in shame. "Yeah, he's probably right."

After having a little bit of fun, the woman started to make her way with the two children toward Gariland Fountain, in the center of the town square.

"Where are we going, Lady Raldah?" The brown-haired girl asked.

"We are going to the center of the fair. I can see the most people from there." Raldah replied.

The red-haired boy looked up at Raldah. "Are we going to find our two new friends now?!" He jumped up in glee. He was excited to make some new friends.

"Yes. I'm going to search for the other two Warriors from there."

The girl looked from side to side, seeing the massive amount of people surrounding her. "Gee, that could take a long time…"

_Not with my eyes._ Raldah thought to herself.

The fountain finally came into her sight. She stopped in front of a bench.

"Okay. Are you two ready to start looking?" She asked the two kids.

They both jumped up and stood on the bench to match her height.

"Um...I guess. But I don't really know who we're looking for." The girl replied.

Raldah laughed. "That's alright. I'm the only one who will be able to locate them. It's the same way that I discovered you, Midahn."

The red-haired boy jumped up and down. "Oh wow! That was fun! I can't wait to see them then!"

Raldah became still, squinting her eyes and sharpening her focus. All of the noise around her died down in her ears, and she only saw the people walking by.

_Alright. This might be a little difficult, with so many people walking about in this square. But I know I can rule out the adults. That will eliminate the majority of the crowd. But hopefully they are here. We should have been clear on a time as well, not just a day._ She recalls her meeting with the other Visionaries of Light not too long ago.

She activate a power within her vision. Her sight becomes gray. Everything she sees is grayed out, colorless. It was slightly blurry as well. From both corners of her peripheral vision, extremely bright lights obscure her vision.

The two children look at Raldah in awe as she puts her hands onto her temples and concentrate really hard. But she suddenly covers her eyes and shakes her head.

"Ack! You two need to be completely behind me! You're blinding me." She steps forward and the two children sit down onto the bench to stay out of her line of sight.

_Ahh, that's better. Now finding these other two children will be a piece of cake._ She thinks to herself as she reawakens her power. She starts to look left and right, scanning her surroundings to find any children who glow or stand out. Finally, she spots the outline of two boys, one with his arms crossed, and another with his hands in his pockets, looking about.

"Aha!" Raldah says as she spots them. The children jump up with excitement, as the moment they have been waiting for was finally about to happen.

"Did you find them?! Did you find them?!" The red-haired boy shouted.

"Yes. I could faintly see two golden auras about two young boys. They are on the opposite side of the fountain. Come now! Let's go meet them!" Raldah took their hands and lead them toward the other side of the square.

"Man, I'm not sure how much longer I can wait!" Neal said, tapping his foot.

Sevrin clenched his fists lightly in his arms. "Yeah, I'm kinda growing impatient as well. These guys have to be here sometime today though, that's for sure."

Neal closed his eyes and sighed. "There is still a _lot_ left of today. It's still bright out. If they make us wait till night time I'm gonna pound them."

Sevrin wanted to remind him who these other two are but couldn't. He was sick of waiting as well. They've done everything they could at the fair and can't eat any more, so there was nothing else to do but wait.

Suddenly, they were approached by a tall woman, accompanied by two other kids.

"Almost there. They should be right around this fountain." Raldah said.

The girl peeked over the fountain as they were making their way around it, but she couldn't see from all of the people walking by. Then, as the large group of people parted, a little clearing could be seen, where two boys were standing. The girl gasped. That had to be them!

She looked at the brown-haired boy on the right and recognized him. He was the boy who was a few spots ahead of them in line at the cotton candy stand, who took a huge bite out as he walked past. He looked funny them, but seeing him now, she noticed that he looked like he was tired from waiting, and had a cold, mean face. She looked at the other boy next to him, who looked just as scary. He had a mask that covered the bottom half of his face, and had cold, green eyes.

She shivered a bit at the sight of them.

Neal and Sevrin looked up at the group that was approaching them. Neal noticed a brown-haired, pale girl and a small red-haired boy alongside a tall lady. He sighed and looked down, thinking that couldn't be them. One was too small and young, and the other was a _girl_.

"Hello. I think you two are the boys we are looking for." Neal heard the woman say. His eyes widened, and he looked up, mouth agape. They _couldn't_ be the other two warriors. They looked so weak and naive to Neal.

Sevrin tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean, lady?" Neal turned to him, confused at why Sevrin sounded like he had no idea what was going on.

"Do you possess powers of Light inside you, by chance?" She asked them.

Sevrin remained sounding confused. "I don't know what you are talking about, ma'am," and shrugs her off.

Neal looked back and forth between Sevrin and the tall lady. _What the hell are you doing, Sev?!_

He was just about to say something to the lady when she suddenly spoke.

"Ah, you're a smart one. Even at this young of age, you are cautious that this could be a trap. Well done. My name is Raldah, and I am a Visionary of Light."

Sevrin smiled at his smart actions and waved at the lady. "My name is Sevrin." He extended his hand, with a fingerless padded glove and forearm protector which ninja wore.

She shook his hand and turned to Neal. "And what's your name?"

Neal was shocked that Sevrin had thought of that, and how naive he would've been, but he immediately shook it off. He shouted with pride, "My name is Neal! Neal Faris! It's a pleasure!"

"Hello, Sevrin and Neal Faris! It seems that we have all found each other. I'd like you to meet your other two Warriors of the Light! Hey, you two, come out from behind me." She says, and ushers out the two kids who were standing behind her nervously. "Introduce yourselves to your new friends."

They stood there for a moment, completely silent. The small, red-haired boy decided to speak up first.

"My name's Midahn! Lady Raldah is the one who discovered me, I promise! I was glowing, really! I saw it myself! It was a really bright gold, and everyone cheered for me, and-" Raldah cut him off.

"Calm down, Midahn. Let's not get too crazy here." Raldah said, holding him down from his constant jumping in place.

Sevrin walked over to him. He towered over the short boy. Midahn looked up at him, having to tilt his head as high as he could to see his face. Sevrin put his hand on his shoulder, and shook him in a friendly matter. Midahn smiled at him.

"Nice to meet ya, Midahn!" Sevrin said.

Neal walked over to him and held his hand out in a fist in front of him. Midahn looked at his hand, confused.

"What does that mean?" He asks, still looking at his hand.

"It's called a fist bump. You do that to someone you think is really cool!" Neal said, giving him a grin.

Midahn smiled at how cool his new friends were, and bumped Neal's fist. He liked them a lot already.

They all turned towards the girl who was standing there, fidgeting with her hands. Seeing all the pairs of eyes aimed at her, she turned bright red.

Sevrin asks, "And you are?"

She gulped from nervousness at how tough the two boys looked. When she met Midahn earlier that day, she thought that she would be the biggest kid out of them all, but these two boys look like tough fighters already…

Nervously, she stammered, "I'm Mirabelle…" and looked down at the ground.

Sevrin was about to reply, when Neal suddenly outbursts.

"A GIRL?!" He couldn't believe that a _girl_ was one of the Warriors of the Light. It didn't make sense to him. Neal always thought of girls as just bothersome weaklings.

Mirabelle, shocked by his shout, became angry at what he just said. "And what's THAT supposed to mean, huh?!" She furiously yelled. She hated when people called her weak just for being a girl.

Neal, becoming angry as well, clenched his fists. "How can a _girl_ be a warrior?! All they do is whine and cause drama!"

She stepped up to him and slapped him in the face. "You know what? Boys are _jerks!_ They think they're so much stronger than us that it makes us nothing!"

Neal became even angrier. "Well let's go then! Right here! You and me!" He was restraining himself from moving any closer to her, bent by anger.

Sevrin stood there with his hand up, mouth open from when he was going to greet her before Neal exploded. Raldah laughed at this quick explosion of anger between the two.

"It seems that we have some problems to work out between us, don't we?" She directed toward Neal and Mirabelle. They kept glaring at each other, shaking their fists.

"Neal. You are going to have to accept the fact the Mirabelle is one of the Warriors of the Light, like you are. She was chosen, so that means that _she _is going to become very powerful too. Being a girl doesn't mean anything." Raldah says to Neal, trying to calm him down.

He stops gritting his teeth and releases his clenched fists. "Hmph. Alright."

Midahn, who's eyes and mouth were wide open during the fight, breathes a sigh of relief. "Whew, that was fast!"

Raldah took them to a park outside the fairgrounds, and they sat in the small grassy field.

"Now that it is a little more quiet, let's talk about your mission." She says to the four of them.

"But before that, I'd like to know more about you two, Neal and Sevrin. Where are you from, what you like to do, things of that nature."

Neal quickly responds. "I was born and raised in Alryne, the village of warriors! I like to train and become stronger!"

Raldah nods her head. "You came from the Alrynite Valley? That must have been a long trek. So that means Ingad, the Great Elder, discovered you. Is that right?"

"Yeah! That's right! That old man did!" Neal responded.

She looked at Sevrin. "Alright, and how about you, Sevrin?"

"I was born in Kurina, the ninja village, but I was raised in Alryne as well. I grew up with Neal and we trained together to become strong." He said.

Raldah's eyes grew wide. "Wait! You two knew each other since early childhood? So that means Ingad…"

Sevrin read her mind. "...discovered both of us, together." She was amazed. She had never heard of that happening before.

"That is incredible. You two have no idea how rare something like that is. You must be a special group of kids… But wait. Where is Ingad? Did he not accompany you?" Raldah said.

They shook their heads. She was shocked. "You two came _all _this way by yourselves?!"

Neal grinned confidently. "You bet. And we had to fight monsters along the way! Believe that!"

Raldah shook her head and smiled. _Ingad, you always said you wouldn't go easy on them if you ever discovered any. It looks you came through on that…_

"That's incredible. I travelled here with Midahn, and Mirabelle was escorted all the way from the town of Magus, but you two alone? All the way from that thick, Alrynite forest? Wow…" She was amazed that they made it in one piece. She also understood that Ingad had gave them a lesson through that, which was teamwork. That will help these four a lot during their first few weeks together.

"Now, let's talk about what lies ahead for you. You four are going to spend a long time together, and will need to learn to get along well. You will work together as a team, powered by your friendship, and not let anything else get in the way. By cooperating together, you will become the most powerful warriors in the world." Raldah said.

Neal's face lit up. "Then we can do it! I'm sure of it!" He looked over at Mirabelle, who glared at him.

"Eventually," Raldah continued, "You will go to the ancient Crystal Cave hidden inside the great North Mountain Range. You will all go to the Crystal of Light. There, you will be blessed by its Light if it deems you worthy. But that is far from now. You all are not ready yet. You are too young, and have just met. You will need to form bonds with each other that cannot be broken. Also, your minds and hearts must be set for this quest. You will come to understand your purpose, and be willing to protect your world with your life. _Then _you might be ready."

Later that day, they went to a local café. Raldah was going to give them parting away advice. She was going to return home that night.

"Now, it could be years from now when you will go to the Crystal Cave. Who knows? It all depends on how long it takes before you four are ready."

Neal was a little confused. "Well, what are we going to do now then?"

Raldah thought for a moment. "I have an idea on where you could get started. But after that, you're on your own."

The four kids stared off into the distance, overwhelmed by that statement. None of them really knew much about the world, since they are only familiar with their hometowns. They also don't have much experience.

"I know this seems like a lot to you, but don't worry. I have faith that you will get onto your feet. You four are the chosen ones, after all." Raldah said, smiling.

"Now," she continued. "I've heard that there is trouble in the kingdom of Rothguard. Have you heard of it?"

The four shake their heads. She closes her eyes. "Hmm...Rothguard is a small kingdom that controls all of Isthal. Isthal is a nation about fifty miles north of here, from Gariland. It's a fairly peaceful nation, but there is word of a large amount of monsters invading their small villages. Are you four willing to help this kingdom and stop these evil creatures?"

Neal jumped up out of his chair. "Yeah! We'll take 'em all out!" He was pumped. The thought of his adventure truly beginning made him quiver with excitement.

"Alright. I'll send word that help will arrive shortly. Follow the path from the north gate early tomorrow morning. It will lead you into the country of Isthal." Raldah said.

Sevrin nodded. "Will do."

She gave each of them a good look. "I think you four will get along well. I know we had a rough start, but I think we can all get along." She turned to Neal and Mirabelle. Mirabelle looked at him, and he stared down at the table.

"I am going to head home now. Before I go, I want to remind you how important your teamwork will be in your mission. Always be by each other's side and do what you think will be best for the team, not for yourselves." She said, as she stood up to leave.

Midahn jumped up and gave her a hug. "I don't want you to leave, Lady Raldah!"

Raldah hugged him back, and smiled. "I know, little one. But now it is your time to step up and become a hero!"

The dark of the night appeared as the sun set that evening. Raldah began her journey back home, leaving the four children at the café.

"Alright, I think we should get some rest early tonight, so we can get a head start tomorrow morning." Sevrin said.

"Okay, that sounds like a good plan." Mirabelle said. They stood up and headed towards the door. Neal grabbed Mirabelle's arm before she could go through the door. He waited until Sevrin and Midahn left.

She turned around, slightly annoyed at him. He scratched his head, and had on a look of guilt.

"Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier. That was not cool…" He looked angry at himself.

She punched him in the arm, and said "Yeah, whatever jerk," and turned around to leave.

"I really mean it, you know." He said. She could tell he was being sincere, and turned around and looked at him.

Neal walked up to her and shook his head. "You know what? Let's just start over!" He grinned and said, "My name's Neal!"Mida

She couldn't be mad at him any more. She smiled and giggled at him. "My name's Mirabelle!"

They left the café and caught up with Sevrin and Mirabelle. The four of them went back to the room Neal and Sevrin originally checked in at the Inn.

"So, where are you guys from again?" Neal says as he sits down on one of the bed.

"I'm from Caershire. So is Lady Raldah! She discovered me there!" Midahn says.

"Where's that at?" Neal asks.

"It's in the North! Lady Raldah said we had to travel a long way north to get here." He replies. They all laugh.

"That means its from the South, not the North." Sevrin says.

Midahn tilts his head, thinking about it for a moment. "Oh!"

_Is this kid serious? How will he be of any use in battle? He's so small and naive. He doesn't even look strong…_ Neal thought, displeased.

He shakes his head and turns to Mirabelle. "And where's that Magus place?"

"It's in the East. Far in the East." She said.

"How'd you get here then?" Sevrin asks.

Confused, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Uhh…" Sevrin recalls what happened to Neal when _he _decided to go there. He scratched his head.

"Did you...uh...travel here alone?" Neal says, and flinches, expecting to be slapped again.

Mirabelle balls her hands into fists. "I'm not incompetent and weak! I can survive on my own...But I did get help on the way. One of our higher mages went with me on the way."

"What's a mage?" Neal asks.

Mirabelle looked at him as if he was an alien. "What do you mean, what's a mage? Are you messing with me again?"

Neal puts his hands up in protest. "No! I've just never heard of it?" She looks at Sevrin, and he shrugs as well. Her mouth opens in disbelief.

"Are you serious? Mages are all over the world! We make up the majority of the population…"

She said.

"What is it, though. What does it do?" Neal asks.

She grits her teeth. "Stop saying 'it'! Mages are people, but with special abilities."

Neal, Sevrin, and Midahn leaned forward. "What kind of abilities?" Neal was extremely interested.

"There are a few different kinds, as far as we know. I have one of these kinds, known as white magic."

Neal and Sevrin looked at each other in disbelief. It sounded like crazy talk to them. They face Mirabelle again. "Did you just say...magic?"

She nods. "Yes, I did. I'm a white mage." They all gasp and look at her with awe. She becomes red faced with embarrassment. "It's not _that _special! It's…" she didn't know what to say.

Neal, with wonder, asks, "What can you do?!"

Mirabelle doesn't like attention to herself like that. Seeing each of them look at her oddly gives her the feeling stage fright. Thinking fast, she says, "Well, let me show you!" and punches Neal, who was leaning close toward her, right in the nose, breaking it. He flew backwards and lands hard onto the floor. The others jump up at the sudden blow.

"Woah! What was that for?!" Midahn shouted. He didn't like violence. It scared him. He started to quiver.

"Relax. Watch my ability!" She says, smiling as she raises her right hand toward Neal, writhing in pain while holding his hands over his bleeding and broken nose. Her hand slowly began to start glowing a bright, luminous green. Neal, face distorted from the pain, forgot about the pain, and let go of his face, staring at the bright light. His eyes grew wide while the blood continued to drip from his nose.

His face starting glowing green, just like the source emanating from Mirabelle's hand. He felt his wounds starting to heal, and the blood started to disappear. His nose straightened. He completely returned back to normal, feeling no more pain. In shock, Neal starting feeling around his face and nose, wondering how all of the pain vanished.

"That is the power of a white mage. We have the power of healing." Mirabelle says proudly.

It was silent for a few moments. Everyone was still in awe at what just happened. Midahn starting clapping and jumped up. "Wow! That was incredible!"

"We have never known what _really _exists in this world, Neal…" Sevrin said, sounding both sad and amazed.

"Yeah...I've never even _heard _of anything like this before, let alone see with my own two eyes…" Neal said.

Mirabelle shook her head. "This is nothing, really. It's just basic white magic...It's not even impressive."

After seeing Mirabelle's power, everyone turned to Midahn. They were curious to know what he could do, and why he was chosen at such a young age.

"What can you do, Midahn?" Sevrin asks.

He smiled. "I thought you'd never ask! I've got abilities _too_! Just like Mirabelle." He replies gleefully.

"You can heal people as well?" Sevrin said.

He shook his head. "I'm a little different though. Check this out!" He raises his hand in front of him, facing his palm upward. They gathered around him, curious to see what he was about to do.

He began to concentrate on his hand. In a few seconds, a little flame appeared above his hand, hovering in place. The other's reacted just the same way to Mirabelle.

Mirabelle gasped. "So you're a black mage, Midahn!"

Neal shook his head. "This is crazy! You guys are amazing!" He forgot about his doubts he had earlier. _They have powers! So there are other kinds of combat besides physical?! That would explain why they don't need to be physically strong to be a Warrior of the Light then!_ The thought of their team having these different kinds of powers as well as his brute strength worked him up.

"Midahn is a black mage. This is the other most common type of mage. They _damage _with their magic, while _I_ heal with my white magic. Their power lies with the elements, fire, ice, thunder, and earth."

Midahn even seemed amazed. "I didn't know I could do _all_ of that!"

Mirabelle laughed. "And that's just the beginning of it all. There are many other kinds of spells that both white and black mages can perform as well. It's complex for someone who is just beginning to learn…"

She noticed Neal's giant sword leaning against the wall. It's sheer size scared her. "Uhh...is that _yours_?" She points to the sword, looking at Sevrin.

"No. That's-" Neal cut him off. "Mine!" She turned towards him.

"So...what can you two do?" She asked.

Neal grinned. "Well, while _you_ two use your magic, _we_ are fighters!" He says, pointing at himself and Sevrin with pride.

"I use my sword to fight, and Sevrin uses his knives. We've been training together ever since we were little kids to become as strong as we are today. Believe that!" he said.

Mirabelle was now looking at Neal with disbelief. "You're telling me that you can _hold_ that thing?!"

Neal laughed, and walked over to where he leaned his sword on the wall. He grasped the sword's hilt with his two hands tightly and lifted it up and turned it right side up.

"Oh my...How much does that _weigh?!" _She asked, covering her mouth with her hands.

Neal shrugged. "I don't know. Probably somewhere between three hundred and four hundred pounds, I guess." Mirabelle almost fainted.

"How?! That must be over _double _your own weight!" She said, dumbstruck.

Neal grinned again. "Well, you've got _your_ strengths, and I've got _mine._" He said, as he set down the blade against the wall.

"Alright. We've seen what we all can do. How about we get some rest and use it tomorrow, when we head for Rothguard?" Sevrin said.

"Yeah!" Neal shouted. Mirabelle felt utterly weak after she saw Neal pick up his giant sword and hold it like it was nothing, but shrugged it off, because she became nervous at the thought of running into trouble tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading chapter three. Neal and Sevrin finally met their two new companions on their mission, as well as what powers they possess. On the other hand, the two new Warriors see just how powerful the fighters of the group are. Next time: The Warriors begin their first journey together?! What obstacles get in the way?


	5. The Journey Begins!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Four- The Journey Begins!**

It is early the next morning. The four set out through the north gate of Gariland. Mirabelle notices a danger sign at the beginning of the road past the gate, which read '_Danger! Beware of monsters and other creatures!'_'_. _She gulps and continues behind Neal and Sevrin.

Neal is anxious to get into a battle with his new team. He wants to see more of Mirabelle and Midahn's magic, and is excited at the idea of having to both defend them and deal strong attacks. It made him feel like a true warrior.

"Alright! Let's get going!" Neal shouted. Sevrin tapped him on the shoulder, and gave him a short little nod. Neal understood and did the same. They both turned around and faced the other two, stopping them.

"Hey, so have either of you ever been in battle before?" Sevrin asked their two new friends.

They both shook their heads. Neal scratched his head in disappointment. Both of them now looked nervous. Neal put up his hands in assurance.

"Don't sweat it. Me and Sev have only been in a few ourselves. So we're all pretty much on the same playing field. But there is something you need to know and understand, before we go any further." Neal said.

"What is it?" Midahn asked.

"You need to keep in mind that we are going to be in _real_ battle scenarios. We're going to fight with our lives at stake, okay? This is no joke. Since you two aren't wearing anything very protective, and aren't too physically strong, Neal and I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive."

Sevrin said.

Midahn suddenly became nervous, and started shaking. Sevrin walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, little guy. I know you're still a kid, but you're a chosen one, so you obviously have a lot of talent. We're going to rely on you- no." He turns and faces all of them, and waves his hand at each of them. "We're going to all rely on _each other_ for this, and we'll all have each other's backs. Got it?" He said.

Everyone nods. Midahn feels more confident being next to Sevrin, because of how big and cool he was.

They started walking down the north road. There was nothing blocking their path yet for a couple of hours. The group only noticed a small pack of monsters way out in the distance, and passed them quietly. Mirabelle's heart was beating slowly but loudly, as she was scared that they were going to run into monsters, and time was only ticking.

Around noon, they decided they were going to stop and rest for a little bit and eat some lunch. They are waiting to find trees nearby to hide from the road, but are currently in an open, windy field. Sevrin suddenly stops, holding his hand out to his side. Everyone bumps into it and stops.

Mirabelle's heart rate started to increase. "W-what is it?" She whispered nervously to Sevrin.

He continues looking forward, as if he is sensing something. He holds his hand up to keep everyone still and quiet.

"I heard something a second ago. Now I sense something nearby. But I don't know what it- BACK UP!" He crosses his hand to his sides and pulls out his new, deadly knives. Mirabelle and Midahn jump back, and Neal draws his sword from around his back. He and Sevrin stand in front of them, guarding them.

As Sevrin shouted, four creatures pounce onto the group from behind a hill. They block the attacks that creature attempt with their claws. The creatures were brown, and furry. They resembled a tiger slightly, but more ferocious and with sharp claws.

Mirabelle is frozen with fear. She is shakily standing behind Neal. She sees how fearless and brave he his and manages to wield her staff. Her staff is made from a strong oak wood, and was gnarled at the top, where a colorless orb lies in the center of the top.

Neal dashes forward and spins to prepare a momentum slash. But he is too slow, and the creature dodges, and tries to bite him. He quickly jumps back to their formation.

Midahn is barely able to hold onto his staff. He is too scared. Sevrin is critically analyzing their opponents, trying to learn how they move and how they attack. He and Neal continue to stand directly in front of the two mages, not letting a scratch go by them.

Neal is continually trying to hit them with his slow but strong attacks, but is still not succeeding. After his next few misses, he jumps back into formation and starts breathing deeply, gritting his teeth.

"Damn...They're too fast!" He says.

Seeing Neal in need to catch a breath, Sevrin gives a go at an attack. Since he is much quicker, he dashes forward and slashes one of the creatures a few times before having to return back to the group from the other three creatures trying to bite him. It yelps in pain, and snarls at them, getting angrier.

"U-uh, g-guys?" Midahn says from behind them.

They quickly turn and look at him.

"W-we can't do anything if you're directly in f-front of us. We'll hit you by accident!" Midahn said.

They turn back toward the monsters, who all attack at once. Neal manages to fend off three of them by swiping his sword in a horizontal arc in front of him, and Sevrin blocks the last one's claws with his knives.

"You have a good point, Midahn!" Sevrin says, gritting his teeth while defending. "But that will make you more vulnerable if we change into a straight line formation. What should we do?"

"I-I don't know!" Midahn said. He looks over at Mirabelle, and she quickly shrugs. They turn to Neal, who was sweating from concentration.

"I have a plan…" He says, keeping his eyes focused on the creatures.

"What is it?" They all said.

"We'll-" He pauses and shouts as he lifts up his sword to block one of the monster's attacks. "-Get into something _like_ a line formation. Me and Sevrin will take the outsides of the line, leaving you two in the middle. But _we_ will be standing only a little bit closer, and facing inwards, ready to attack _and_ easily able to defend you two in the middle!" Neal said.

"That's perfect!" Sevrin said, his eyes widening as he visualizes the formation in his mind. "Good thinking! Let's do it!"

Neal and Sevrin quickly leap into Neal's new formation. Mirabelle and Midahn are lightly clutching their staffs, as they are now directly in front of the monsters, who are growling at them.

"I-I don't know about this!" Mirabelle said.

"Don't worry about a thing!" Neal shouted. She was directly to his left and he was standing closer to the monsters than she was. He was also facing slightly inward so she could be seen from the corner of his eye. "I'll protect you the best that I can! I promise!"

"Midahn! Now's your chance! Hit them with some black magic! Our attacks don't do much good, so lets see if _yours_ do!" Sevrin said.

Midahn raises his staff, and the orb in the center of the top of it begins to glow red, as a fiery aura appears around it. Staffs are the best weapons for mages because mages can channel their magical energy from inside their body into the orb at the top and unleash spells at their full potential.

He blasts a small line of fire onto two of the monsters. It is a very effective hit. They yelp and fall down from the intense heat of the flames. Seeing the two monsters dead, the remaining two growl at the Warriors, becoming even more angry. One of them viciously lunges for Midahn, but Sevrin ran in front of him, taking in the monster's attack. It scratched him with its sharp claws wildly. Sevrin's upper arms, where his biceps and triceps where, were cut and bleeding badly. They are the only spots on his arms that aren't covered by his padded armor. He had padded wrist guards, forearm guards, and metal shoulder pads on, but the monster struck him in the only spot where there wasn't any protection.

Sevrin cried out in pain, and blood was flowing from his cuts. Neal looked at Mirabelle, who was still deathly afraid of the situation.

"Hey! Mirabelle! It's your turn now! Snap out of it! Sevrin needs your help!" He said, trying to break her trance. She looked at him, and he quickly pointed over to Sevrin, and she saw his wounds. She gasped, and looked down at her robe. It is of a white mage.

_What am I doing? I can't just be scared anymore! I probably look like such an idiot! Oh wait! Sevrin is wounded._ She thought, as she gritted her teeth. She raised her staff toward Sevrin, and the orb began to glow green. A green and shiny aura appeared onto Sevrin's arms, much brighter than when she showed them using only her hands last night. The staff had channeled her healing power, using the most effective cure spell that she could onto Sevrin. His wounds started to disappear, and he could grip his weapons easily again.

"Thanks!" He shouted, and dashed forward and pierced one of the remaining monsters.

_Wow...she is really a key essence to the group!_ Neal thought. _Her healing is probably going to save us so many times...I'm going to have to definitely try my best to not let her get hurt, so she can keep on healing us in battle._

Midahn prepared his staff again for another attack. He shot another fire spell at the wolfs, finishing them off. Sweating, and breathing deeply, Neal stabbed his sword into the ground and pumped his fist into the air.

"Yeah! We did it!" He shouted. He ran over to Midahn and put his hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Nice job, Midahn! You're an _awesome_ mage! You took out those things like it was nothing!"

Midahn laughed, and started jumping up and down. "Yay! We won! We won! That wasn't so scary after all! As long as we're all together, we can win _all _of our battles!"

Neal cheered again. He turned to Mirabelle. "And _you_, Mirabelle! Without you, Sevrin would've been history! You're the best!"

Sevrin placed his knives into his sheaths on the sides of his belt. "Yeah right, Neal! But seriously, thanks Mirabelle. You're powers are such a big help!" He grinned at her.

She looked down, and said doubtfully, "Yeah, I guess." Seeing Midahn's incredible attacks made her feel like she hardly did anything in their first battle. All she did was cast one cure spell, and stand there frightened during the rest of it.

"Hey, don't think down on yourself." Neal said, as if reading her mind. "I think we've all been through _that_ stage. You'll never become stronger if you cling to that mindset, you know!"

She knew he was right, but she still had the small nagging feeling in her head that she was nothing. Neal sensed this, and knew how hard it was for him as a kid to stop thinking that way. He walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder, and shakes her jokingly.

"Ack! Stop it!" She said, her whole body shaking back and forth. Neal laughed. When she said that, her words were very bouncy, and sounded funny. She laughed as well, looking more cheery.

_Hopefully she will forget about that crap._ Neal thought, looking more assured. _She needs to be more happy, not sad. That's the first step of overcoming low self-confidence. I learned that the hard way. If you're sad, you're more depressed and more doubtful of yourself._

"Everyone did awesome! It looks like we are _meant _to be a team!" Neal said.

They continued down the north path, heading into the evening. Along the way, they found themselves in a few more battles. Most of them were of the same wolf-like monsters originally, while some others had different creatures. Their new formation and confidence made them breeze through these battles. By the time they reached nightfall, neither Mirabelle nor Midahn were scared to fight anymore.

But, after a long day of traveling and fighting, they became exhausted. They started to prepare to to stop and and rest for the night, but needed to find a safe place first.

"Ugh...We've been moving all day...Why can't there be a safe place to sleep?" Mirabelle said, and groaned. It was almost completely dark out, and they were guided only by the light of the stars and the moon.

Neal was walking with his shoulders slumped forward. "Man, this sucks. I'm tired…"

"Pretty much nowhere is safe around here, but some cover from trees would definitely help. Why are there _no_ trees around here…" Sevrin said.

Midahn could barely keep his eyes open. He was even more exhausted than the other three. He's two years younger than the others, at only eleven, but much smaller than average. He didn't have as much energy as them, and had to use a lot more magic throughout the day than he's used to.

He blinks a few times and shakes his head to keep himself awake. He couldn't keep it up, though. When his eyes closed again, he fell forward, dozing off.

"Hey, come on buddy! We're almost there!" Neal runs over and catches him before he hits the ground. MIdahn groans.

"How…" He lets out a big yawn. "...Do you know that?" He asks him sleepily.

Neal sighed. "I don't know… You got me." He begins to put him back on his feet, but stops suddenly. "Hey! I have an idea! How about I hold you up, and you light some fire in the air to give us some light so we can see ahead?"

Sevrin and Mirabelle's faces brightened. "That's a great idea!" Mirabelle said.

"Wow, you're full of great ideas today, Neal. Keep it up." Sevrin said.

Midahn yawns loudly again. "Alright...sounds good to me."

Neal hoisted him up to stand on his shoulder. With the other two holding his legs down for balance, he raised his staff as high as he could, and prepared a fire spell. But since he didn't have a target, he just kept channeling energy into the orb, and a light started to form.

"Do you see anything?" Neal said.

"Uhh…." Midahn looked left and right. "Not really. Wait!" The others looked up at him, becoming anxious to know if he found a place to set up their tent. Midahn peered farther straight ahead. "I see the beginning of a forest!"

Neal leaped forward. "Yeah! Let's go!" He shouted. Midahn lost his balance and his feet were knocked forward from Neal taking off. Sevrin and Mirabelle caught him.

"Hey! Keep it down, you idiot!" Mirabelle said in a hushed tone. "The night time is when the _scarier_ monsters come out!"

Neal skidded to a stop. "Sorry!" He whispered. They caught up to him and continued toward the forest. When they arrived, they located a small clearing to set up their tent.

"Wait...what are you doing?" Mirabelle said.

Sevrin looked up, confused. "I'm pitching the tent. Do you want to sleep on the bare ground?"

"No you idiot, not that! This place isn't safe either a tent!" She said.

"What are you talking about, crazy?" Neal said, yawning. She gritted her teeth and smacked him on the head.

"Shut up Neal! Let me explain something to you guys. Before I left, A powerful mage from my village named Esmond told me something important about finding places to sleep out in the wilderness. He's one of the Visionaries of Light, the one who discovered me, so he knows what he's talking about!" She said.

"Well, what is it?" They asked.

"He told me about a certain way to tell if a place is completely safe by using a type of magic. If it is safe, the area will reveal a bright glowing ring around it to me. I just tried it here and that _didn't_ happen." She said.

"Well, you got _that_ right!" Neal shouted as he swung his sword from around his back. They quickly turn around and see a group of goblins ambushing them.

Sevrin sighed. "Some goblins are intruding on our spot? How rude…" He pulled out his knives, preparing to quickly deal with the weak creatures.

Neal and Sevrin quickly slayed them. "How annoying." Neal said, and turned to Mirabelle, with an annoyed look. "Is it safe _now_?"

Mirabelle raised her staff and emitted a small white glow to scan the area. She gulped, and shook her head.

Neal groaned. "Agh...what now? I just want to go to sleep already!" He started to look around, holding his sword in a defensive position.

"The noise we made killing those things might have attracted more monsters nearby, so stay on guard." Sevrin said. He let out a quick sigh. "I _would_ have thought about this beforehand, but I'm so tired I can't really think at all!"

Suddenly, the earth shook around them from something large hitting the ground. It happened again, and again, coming closer. They are footsteps.

"Those aren't small footsteps, guys…" Neal said. A huge creature that looked like a giant turtle with a large, spiky shell appeared.

Midahn gasped. "Thats-thats a land turtle!" They turn to him, and see that he's frightened.

"W-what is a land turtle?" Mirabelle says, shaking nervously.

"It's from a children's tale that we were told as kids. It was used to teach children manners, '_or else the big land turtle will gobble you up!' _But that matches what it looks like perfectly! A large turtle with a spiky shell. Those things are real!" He said, his eyes wide at the sight of the massive creature.

"Well you can kiss the idea of getting any rest tonight goodbye." Neal said. "This is going to be a long fight, you guys got enough left in you for one more?" He turned toward his friends with a determined smile.

"Yeah, I think so." Sevrin said, stretching his arms. Mirabelle looked back and forth between the two of them, in disbelief of how much energy and endurance they have.

_They truly are tough fighters… I guess we do make a good team. _She thought.

The land turtle started to approach them. Neal readied his sword. Sevrin pulled out his knives.

"Alright Midahn. You've heard stories about this thing. Do you know what its weakness is?" Sevrin asked.

"Well, they're supposedly weak to ice." Midahn said.

Neal grunted. "How the heck are we supposed to do that? Where would we get ice?"

"No, not ice like that. Ice _spells_." Midahn said.

The land turtle roared, and snapped at Neal. He jumped back, barely dodging its vicious bite.

"Can you do that?" Sevrin asked him. He attempted to pierce the turtle with his knife but it did nothing. It's body was too hard.

"I've only done fire spells before. I've...never really tried any other, I guess." Midahn said, and shrugged. The land turtle knocked Neal backwards, causing him to hit the ground hard. Mirabelle quickly used a cure spell on him.

"Midahn! Usually mages use spellbooks to learn basic black and white magic spells. You would have to gain the knowledge from a blizzard spell book, but we don't have that!" Mirabelle said as she healed Neal.

"Crap...What are we gonna do now?" Neal said as he stood up. "Do you think fire would get him good?"

"Let's see!" Midahn said, raising his staff. It began to glow a fiery red, and he casted a fire spell at the land turtle. The turtle turned its shell toward the rising flame, blocking all of the damage.

"No good! We need to prevent it from turning it's shell toward us!" Sevrin shouted.

"And the only way _that_ would happen is if we slowed it down with blizzard!" Mirabelle said. She turned to Midahn. "I know it seems you can only cast fire spells, but you need to try to cast a blizzard spell!"

He thought about it for a moment. He raised his staff, and concentrated hard, but nothing happened. "Agh! I don't know where to even start! I need the spellbook to learn it…" He said, frustrated and tired.

"Just think about it! You think about fire and heat and red when you cast fire, right?" Midahn said, standing behind Neal, who was guarding her. Sevrin kept trying to find weak spots on the turtle, but wasn't having much luck.

"Yeah, so?" Midahn replied.

"Have you ever seen a blizzard or snow before? It's a beautiful white shower falling from the sky, and its really _cold_, not hot! It's the exact opposite of your fire spell!" Midahn said.

"Oh! I've seen that before! It's happens up in the mountains, right? I've been there once, and it made me shiver a lot!" He said, recalling the time he visited the peak of a mountain.

"Yes! Think about _that,_ and release a blizzard, Midahn!" Mirabelle shouted. Just then, the turtle swung its mighty tale towards them, and struck each of them in a line. They flew backwards, grunting in pain. Neal and Sevrin were okay, as they were used to hard hits. Sevrin was standing in front of Midahn, so he blocked most of the hit for him. But Mirabelle had moved out from behind Neal, to tell Midahn about the blizzard spell. She took the full swing of the tail, and cried out in pain.

"Mirabelle!" Neal shouted, rushing to her side. He jabbed his sword into the ground beside her, causing the ground to shake a little from its sheer weight. "Are you okay!?"

Her head was swimming from the impact, but she shortly regained her senses. "I-I'll be alright. I can cure myself too, you know."

She cast the spell over herself, and soon the blurriness around her became clear again. Neal helped her back up.

"I'll stand by you!" He shouted as he turned around to face the land turtle again. He became angry, seeing Mirabelle get hurt.

He felt her slump onto his back, as if she couldn't stand anymore. He quickly turned around and caught her. "Hey! Are you alright?!" He shook her lightly. She opened her eyes slightly, and looked exhausted.

"I've been healing everyone so much today, plus I'm tired. I'm running out of energy inside to cast my cure spell…" She managed to say, dozing off.

Neal snarled at the turtle. "She's ran out of juice, guys. We need to take this thing out quick so she can recover."

His arms began to tremble with anger. He was getting fired up. He set her down safely aside, and pulled his sword out of the ground.

Suddenly, a bright white light came from behind them. They turned around, and saw Midahn holding out his staff, and an icy wind was circling around the orb, which was white.

"Yeah! There you go! That's ice!" Neal shouted.

Midahn was putting all that he could into it. Since he had never used a blizzard spell before, it was very difficult for him to keep it under control. He kept reminding himself of the coldness, and not of the fire that he was used to.

"This...could be the last one I can...do!" Midahn shouted as the light became a little brighter. He casted blizzard onto the turtle. Although it wasn't extremely powerful, it still hurt the land turtle, causing it to yelp in pain. The ice made him sluggish.

"Now's our chance!" Sevrin shouted. Neal, trembling with anger, dashed toward the unmoving turtle, preparing to strike. It couldn't move into its defensive position this time. Neal shouted as he swung his sword around and cleaved the turtle in its lower neck. Blood gushed from the deep cut as the turtle collapsed. As it fell, its body began to dissolve and it shattered into pieces, disappearing into the night.

Neal's dropped his sword down to the ground while still holding it, as he panted from exhaustion. He turned toward Sevrin, who was on his knees. "Whew...glad that's over with." He said. Sevrin nodded, and they turned towards their mage friends, who were both snoring. They laughed.

"It looks like using too much magic in one day can really get to you." Sevrin said, laughing. They pitched the tent and woke the other two up, carrying them over to the tent. Neal picked up Mirabelle in his arms, and she cracked open her eyes.

"Did you...kill it?" She said, yawning. Neal looked down at her and smiled. "You bet! Midahn used an ice spell! That made it open for me to attack thanks to you!" She smiled and fell back asleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading the next chapter! This is my rendition of the first boss, the land turtle, from FF3. I wanted the whole team to fight it instead of just one. It was the first boss fight for the team, and I wanted to make it more interesting having them already exhausted from the whole day's travels and fighting, making the battle more difficult. Next time: The team arrives at Rothguard Castle. What lies ahead?!


	6. The Gifted One!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

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**Chapter Five- The Gifted One!**

There is a mage guild in the far southern hemisphere called Mayweather. It is comprised of black mages. These are very powerful black mages. Scholars and sages, who've accumulated much knowledge of black magic were also part of this guild, who taught the art.

One of these scholars was a man named Tristan. He's had a lot of experience as a black mage, devoting his entire life to it. He is considered one of the most prestigious black mages in the guild.

One day, Tristan was chosen to be a teacher to new young mages. He had raised so many powerful mages that he became the most sought after scholar. Everyone wanted to learn black magic from him. They heard many times of his success and the stories of mages under him.

Now, he is in his mid thirties. He is still young, but he has been a teacher for about ten years. It is a new year for students at the Mayweather guild. Today, Tristan made his way to the school to meet his new group of students. It was the first day.

Tristan opened the door to his classroom. Before he entered, he pictured a packed classroom like last year. He hated to admit it, but last year was actually difficult for him. He had too many students to be able to teach effectively. He sighed, and walked into the room. He stopped, and looked at all of the empty desks. In the center of the room stood only two boys.

"Hmm...what do we have here? Only two of you? Are the others late, or am I early?" He said, conjuring a small timepiece above his hand.

"No...I'm here at the right time. So is it just the two of you?" Tristan asked them.

"Yes sir." They said to him. He gave them a good look. One of the boys had gray hair, yet he was only a child. But it wasn't the type of gray that is acquired from old age. _There is something special about this one._ He thought.

He turned to the other boy, who was much smaller than the first one. He had red hair, and fire in his spirit.

"The elder scholars told us that we would be your only students this year, so we could learn as much as possible from you, sir." The silver-haired boy said.

_That makes sense...but only two? That still seems too few. I can work with at least a few more students effectively._ Tristan thought.

"Well, alright then. I am your teacher, Tristan. You will learn a lot about black magic, and will soon become efficient black mages- that is," He smiled. "If you can handle my training."

The two boys stood there, silently. The red-haired boy's face suddenly lit up, and he shot his fist into the air.

"Alright! That sounds awesome!" He shouted.

The other boy looked at him in annoyance, crossing his arms. _What a child…_ He thought.

Tristan laughed. "I like the enthusiasm. Now lets here a little about each of you. We can begin with your names."

The silver-haired boy began. "My name's Gyles." He didn't say anything after that.

"Okay, nice to meet you Gyles. And how about you?" Tristan leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees, looking at the red-haired boy.

"My name's Midahn! Nice to meet ya, sir!" He grinned and waved at the black mage.

Tristan suddenly gasped. "Are you…Midahn Aestus? Of the Aestus family?!" He was shocked at realizing who this boy was. Hearing his name like that made Midahn look down, and his face grew dark.

"So you are the lone survivor of the legendary Magus family?" Tristan said. He suddenly realized how Midahn was reacting and felt sympathy. "Hey, I'm sorry about that. I should have known that I was talking about your _family_ like that. Please forgive me."

"It's...alright." Midahn said. "But that's me." He still had a dark, solemn look. Gyles looked back and forth between them, confused. Midahn shook his head and looked back up at Tristan.

"Now then," Tristan said. "Let's begin."

A few days later, after the day's lesson, Gyles stayed longer than usual. After Midahn left, he turned towards his teacher.

"Excuse me, sir. On our first day, you found out that his name is Midahn Aestus. Who are they?"

Gyles asked.

Tristan sighed. "Well, about a year ago, one of the most powerful magical families here in Mayweather was attacked. This was Midahn's family. Their name was Aestus. They were extremely powerful mages. In fact, they were even beyond the level of a black mage. Their power was that of a magus. A magus is an even more powerful black mage, capable of the highest black magic spells."

Gyles' eyes were wide. "Woah…Well how did they go down then, if they were so powerful?"

"They were attacked at night, when they were all asleep. A hired group of thieves were sent to assassinate them. The reasons and who sent them are unknown, but it is thought that their power struck fear in others. Nobody knew what really happened that night, but witnesses could see the thieves fleeing from the scene after it had happened. Midahn was the only survivor."

_How did he survive, out of all of them? He's such a little weakling… and he can't even cast a single spell yet. _Gyles thought.

It had been a week since Midahn and Gyles had began learning under Tristan. He felt that they were ready and prepared for their first spell.

"Alright, you two. I think it's time to produce some black magic. You two are ready to cast fire." Tristan said.

"Oh boy! It's finally time! I can't wait!" Midahn said, shaking his fists with anticipation. Gyles was determined to do better than Midahn. He didn't want a shrimp that was much smaller than him casting a stronger spell.

They picked up their staffs. "You see those two targets over there?" Tristan pointed towards them. They were two sacks that were wrapped in a magic cloth that was resistant to basic spells. "I want to cast fire onto them. I believe in you both. Now let's see it!"

"Watch this Midahn. This is how it;s done!" Gyles said with determination. He raised his staff, concentrating on the blazing heat of fire, and gave his all to cast the spell. A tiny flame came out of his staff, disappearing right away.

"What?! That's it? How?!" Gyles said, shocked.

"Hmm…it seems you're not quite ready yet, Gyles. I know you are capable, but you need to learn to channel your power into your staff better." Tristan said, nodding his head.

Gyles gritted his teeth. _If he can cast it, I swear…_

"Midahn, let's see what you can do. Remember how its done, and cast fire." Tristan said, beckoning him to give it a try.

"Alright...here goes!" He said. He raised his staff, concentrated hard, and casted the spell. His staff was glowing bright red as a bright flame burst out from his staff, striking the target perfectly. Gyles' eyes grew wide, and his mouth opened.

_How...is this possible? _He thought.

Midahn grinned and turned to Tristan. "Did I get it right?"

Tristan smiled, pleased at his first spell. "That was almost a full fire spell. I'm greatly impressed that you were able to produce that in such a short time. In fact, you are the first under me to even cast that much fire in this short amount of time learning. You truly are the gifted one, as they say." He said.

When Midahn was born, many wizards could tell from his aura that he was going to be an extremely powerful mage. As just a baby, he became known as "the gifted one". Midahn had huge amounts of magical energy flowing through his body, all naturally.

Gyles became angry that Midahn outperformed him. "Why can _you_ do that already? Why can't I do that?!" He was shaking his fists in anger.

Tristan became displeased with Gyles. "Why are you upset about this, Gyles. Everyone is at their own pace. There's not a doubt that you can do just the same soon enough. It's a basic spell…" He shook his head at Gyles' jealousy.

"No! That's unfair! I know I worked so much harder than him!" Gyles raged.

"With an attitude like that, you won't get very far, child." Tristan said.

"Oh, I will. Believe that! I will surpass you! I'll become the most powerful mage of all!" Gyles said, and stormed off.

"Don't come back then. That's not how a student under me treats his peers." Tristan said.

"Why did he freak out like that, sir?" Midahn said.

"I don't know, young one. His patience and temper runs really thin." Tristan replied.

"We only started just this week. If he put some more time and practice into it, he could have done it as well." Midahn said.

"Yes, that is true. He barely started learning black magic spells, so I have no idea why he became so angry like that. For someone to give up so easily like that… That's too bad. Well, if its just you and me, I'd like to teach you as much as I can about magic, Midahn. I have a feeling you'll be a great and powerful black mage someday. You've got a lot of talent at such a young age." Tristan said confidently.

But it wasn't long after that day when Midahn couldn't study with Tristan any more. Just a few days later, Lady Raldah discovered that Midahn was a Golden Warrior of the Light. When Tristan heard these news, he almost couldn't believe his ears.

At the ceremony, Lady Raldah had used her Eyes of Vision onto Midahn, revealing the golden power of light within him to the guild of Mayweather. Tristan, along with many other powerful mages, were watching in the crowd.

_I can't believe it. This boy was chosen to be a savior of the world. There's no doubt that he is going to be a powerful mage. It's a shame that I can't teach him any more. He is going to begin the most difficult quest of his lifetime. _He thought.

After the ceremony was over, Midahn found Tristan waiting for him after the crowd left.

"Hey! Sir! Did you see me?!" Midahn said, running toward him.

Tristan laughed. "Yeah, I saw you! You were completely golden!"

Midahn grinned. "It was so cool!"

Tristan became serious again. "But that's not the point. Do you understand what this means?"

"Umm...not really…" He replied.

"I've heard stories about the legends of these Warriors. Seeing one before me means that these legends are true. I know you are young, so it might be hard to understand now. But you are going to become a fighter representing our entire world." Tristan said.

Midahn's eyes widened. "Woah…"

Tristan continued. "You will need to become a powerful mage, for your team…and that means, you will no longer be my student anymore." He looked down at the ground.

Midahn became sad. "No! But you're the greatest teacher ever! I don't want to leave you!"

"You heard Lady Raldah. You two are departing for the city of Gariland tomorrow. You are going to unite with the other three Warriors of the Light, and begin your quest. Unfortunately, there is no more time for any lessons…" Tristan said disdainfully. He was looking forward to teaching Midahn. He knew he was special, and wanted him to surpass himself someday.

_Well, he probably will surpass me sometime soon enough. He is going to be a Warrior of the Light, after all...So I guess it just wasn't meant to be for me to teach him…_ He thought.

"But we only just started...I hardly even learned one spell…" Midahn said, tears forming in his eyes.

"Yes," Tristan said, putting his hand on Midahn's shoulder. "That may be true, but you are going to learn a lot more from the world than you would from just me and in Mayweather."

They said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Little did they know, Gyles was listening. He watched the ceremony as well, and couldn't stand it. For some reason, he saw Midahn as a rival, an enemy, despite him doing nothing to cause this.

_I'm going to take you down, Midahn. You don't deserve all of that glory…_ He thought.

Gyles left Mayweather that day, all on his own. He snuck out at night. After a few days of traveling, not knowing where to go or what he's looking for, Gyles became weary. He hadn't eaten in almost three days, and it was tough for him to survive in the wilderness. When he thought he had lost all hope, he was discovered by dark, rogue black mages. They found him lying on the ground, starving, and about to die. But they sensed his hatred, and took him in.

The day after the ceremony ended, Midahn departed with Lady Raldah for Gariland. Along the way, they met Mirabelle, who was being escorted by a mage. They had taken a different route to avoid monsters, and crossed paths with Midahn.

"So that's your story huh." Neal said. It was the next morning after defeating the land turtle. The group had set off toward Isthal. They were curious about each other's stories. "That's pretty neat. I've never thought about a village full of mages. It's like the same thing with us in Alryne, right Sev?"

"Yeah, that's true…" Sevrin replied. "We've got a little while longer before we reach the Rothguard castle. How about you, Mirabelle?" They turn toward her. "What was your hometown like?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading the next chapter. I'm giving some background info on the two new mages that joined Neal and Sevrin's team. I wonder what this Gyles deal is. Maybe he plays a part later on...*hint hint. Too obvious... Next time: Mirabelle's story?!


	7. You'll Never Be One!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

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**Chapter Six - You'll Never Be One!**

"Sure, I can tell you more about me." Mirabelle said. The team was continuing forward to the kingdom of Rothguard. They were learning more about each other during the long walk.

"I was born in a small town called Magus. It's located in the far east-" She was cut off.

"Wait a minute. Isn't a magus just a stronger black mage?" Neal said, confused.

"Yes, but my town is called Magus, because the first black mages who were powerful enough to be considered a Magus founded my town. It's a fairly older town, I must say." Mirabelle said.

"Wow. These mage guys sound really powerful…" Neal said.

Mirabelle was born in this town of Magus. It was a town consisted mostly of black mages, but with quite a few white mages as well. But it isn't completely full of mages. There are also normal people filling the small houses in Magus. It is different from Midahn's village, which is a guild. Only black mages exist there, who are devoted to black magic.

Mirabelle, who was an orphan just like the other three, didn't have a place to call home when she was little, so she was sent to small orphanage. It was there that she grew up, to the age of thirteen, like Neal and Sevrin. At this orphanage, the dozen children living there knew each other fairly well, but Mirabelle had one friend who very close to her. Her name was Juliana. They were the best of friends.

A few years ago, Mirabelle and Juliana became very interested in the art of magic. They saw a few mages playing around while they were walking home. They were fascinated by the small flames and ice the kids were producing with their hands.

"Oh wow, look at that Mirabelle! That's amazing!" Juliana said, pointing at them.

"Yeah, it looks so pretty!" Mirabelle said, eyes wide with charm. They approached them and asked how they did that, and the kids laughed.

"You have to be a mage to do it! You need to be born with magical energy inside your body."

One of them said.

The girls were confused. "Well how do we find out if we have this magical energy?" Juliana asked.

The kids pointed to a building they could see on top of a hill, a few blocks away. "Go to that place. That's the magic shop! A really cool mage works there, and he's really smart! He can determine if you can do it or not." They told her.

"Oh wow, thanks!" Juliana said, smiling as she quickly grabbed Mirabelle's hand, pulling her as she ran toward the shop.

"Come on, let's go!" Juliana said very excitedly.

"Slow down!" Mirabelle said, laughing as she was stumbling to catch up.

They entered the magic shop. Mirabelle looked around, her eyes filled with wonder. She saw dozens of books that were etched with strange symbols she had never seen. Odd-looking and unique staffs lined the walls on each side of her.

"Hello, welcome to my shop!" An old man greeted them from behind the counter. "Can I help you with anything today?" He looked at the smiling faces of two young girls across from him.

"Hello mister! We would like to know if we are able to be black mages or not!" Juliana said.

"Oh...I see. You would like to experience the wonderful world of magic, am I right?" He said, smiling. They both nodded their heads quickly. He chuckled.

_The passion and youthfulness of these girls remind me of when I was a child. Such happy memories…_ The old man thought, recalling his youth.

"I like your enthusiasm! Magic is something very extraordinary, but," He stopped, and raised one finger. "It is also something very dangerous. Black magic spells are primarily used in combat, to harm someone. It shouldn't be taken lightly."

"We understand. But how do we know if we possess magical energy?" Juliana said.

"Hmm…" The old man scratched his chin. "I know an old technique that just might work. It seems, since you are asking me about this, that neither of you aren't born of a family of mages, so you have never experienced it before. Am I correct?"

They both nodded. "We have no idea…" Mirabelle said.

"Alright. I think I might still remember this old trick. Let me see…" The old man tilts his head to the side, and looks up, thinking about which spell it was.

"Oooohh, I hope he can do it!" Juliana whispers. Her fists are shaking with anticipation.

"Me too! That'd be so cool!" Mirabelle whispered back. She wanted to be able to make the pretty flames and ice like the other kids did.

"Ah! I remember now!" The shopkeeper said. The girls looked up at him, waiting patiently.

"There is a spell that can reveal one's magical flow of energy in their body. It's a similar spell to Illusio- Well, nevermind that." He said.

"Can you do it for us?" Juliana said eagerly.

"Well sure! It's great to see more young mages springing in our town!" He said.

"Yay!" Mirabelle shouted, and the girls jumped up and down with joy.

"Now hold on, I don't want to disappoint you, but its possible that neither of you will be able to use black magic. Don't think you can yet…" He said.

"Oh, right! I hope," Juliana clapped her hands together. "I can do it. I hope I can do it!"

The old man chuckled again. "You seem eager to know, so let's start with you then." Mirabelle became even more excited. He was about to reveal if Juliana can cast spells or not.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yeah!" Juliana replied. The old man told her to stand very still, and she quickly stiffened her body. But her heart was pounding with anticipation.

The old man raised his hands, concentrating hard on Juliana's eyes. He was mapping out her internal flow of energy, searching for potential of magic in her veins. After a few seconds, his eyes widened, and he put his hands down.

"Well, can I do it? Can I?" Juliana couldn't wait any longer. After a silent moment, the old man smiled. "Yes. I could see it inside your veins. They are flowing with magical energy! You are a black mage!"

Juliana gasped, and started jumping around with glee. "Yay! This is amazing! I'm so excited!"

Mirabelle cheered with her friend, which raised her hopes up for herself. The old man chuckled at their childlike behavior. "Now how about you, young lady? Are you ready to learn if you can do the same?"

"Yes! I'm ready!" She replied. She became very still, like her best friend did, as he raised his hands again, preparing the spell.

"I hope it works for you too, Mirabelle!" Juliana said, praying for her friend to have the same ability. She wanted to be able to play with Mirabelle just like those kids did from outside.

The old man began studying Mirabelle's energy flow, but came across something different, not like her friends.

_Hmm…This one has a different aura about her. It feels like the exact opposite of her friends. The energy flowing through her is...white. So that means…_

He lowered his hands. "You are indeed a mage as well, young lady." He said.

The girls cheered again, and grabbed each other's hands with girly excitement. Before they could celebrate any more, the old man raised his finger again. "But, you are not a black mage."

They both stopped. Mirabelle looked at the old man, her feelings of excitement draining away.

"W-what do you mean?" She says with disbelief.

"You are not a black mage, so you do not possess the ability to cast spells with elements, such as with fire, ice, or earth." He said. Mirabelle's head dropped to the ground. That was all she wanted. Juliana became sad, and put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"So, what can I do then?" Mirabelle said, now depressed.

The old man shook his head. "Now, now. Don't get sad. You have white magical energy inside of you, not black. You are a white mage!"

Mirabelle looked up, curious of what that meant. "What does _that_ mean?"

The man smiled. _It isn't too often that I see this beautiful white energy. Although I love black magic, the love and kindness that white mages give off makes me just as happy. There's something about them. They care so much about others, even more than themselves. It is a loving quality…_

"_You_ possess the ability to heal. That is what white magic is about. Healing wounds on yourself or others. It is a wonderful ability!" He said.

Mirabelle became sad again. She really wanted to be a black mage. All of the elemental spells and interesting books and staffs fascinated her, but they were all for black magic.

The old man sensed her disappointment. "I know you wanted to be a black mage, but I'm sure one day you'll come to realize how special your magic is." He said reassuringly.

"Cheer up, Mir! We can _both_ use magic, isn't that great?!" Juliana said. She felt bad for her too, as both of them were really looking forward to black magic. She didn't want Mirabelle to feel left out.

"I guess so…" Mirabelle said.

"I see great potential in you, miss. You are going to be a great white mage someday!" The old man said. He wasn't lying. He felt a strong power from Mirabelle, but decided not to say anything.

After months of studying and practicing, Juliana began casting basic spells. But Mirabelle wasn't making much progress. Juliana was trying to help her learn black magic. She was convinced that Mirabelle could cast the same spells as her, just like they both wanted. But Mirabelle couldn't do it. The spellbooks that Juliana used didn't make any sense to her.

Mirabelle and Juliana found a group of kids who were interested in black magic. Juliana learned more spells from them, and Mirabelle just tagged along, watching them use black magic. After a while, one of the kids wondered why she never casted spells with them, and asked. She told him that she could only use white magic. The group of kids told her that she should practice white magic instead of just hanging out and watching them each day. She said that she just wanted to be with her friend.

"Don't you want to start using white magic, at least?" One of them asked.

"Well, yeah, but I want to be a black mage. It looks like a lot of fun…" She told him.

"What does it matter since you can't even use black magic? You'll never be one..." He replied.

Soon she finally realized that Mirabelle just wasn't able to use black magic, so Juliana pushed her to start learning white magic. Mirabelle agreed, since using any magic now seemed better than nothing. It was then when she learned her cure ability. Juliana was happy since they could both cast spells now, but Mirabelle wasn't satisfied. She thought it was boring, and not colorful and exciting, like fire, blizzard, and thunder.

One day, Juliana and Mirabelle ran into a group of mysterious, robed people while walking through town. One of them became irritated for being bumped into, and when Juliana apologized, he pushed her violently to the ground.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Mirabelle said.

"Get out of our way." He said. Mirabelle noticed his odd, creepy voice.

"It was an accident, buddy! There's no need to push her like that!" Mirabelle replied coldly.

"Get..._away._" He said, sounding even more cold. Mirabelle stood firm, and he pushed the side of his robe away, revealing a black staff. He pulled it out and pointed it at her.

"S-stop! You can't cast spells to hurt someone! That's against the law!" Juliana said, reaching her hand out as if to stop him.

"I warned you…" The robed person said. His staff began to glow red, preparing for a fire spell.

People, from across the street who were witnessing became alarmed, and called for help. The robed figures were ignoring that, standing completely still and silent. The one aiming at Mirabelle looked at her like he wouldn't hesitate to kill.

He casted the spell at her, and Mirabelle, frozen from fear, didn't move. The brilliant fire erupting from his staff was spiraling right toward her, becoming closer and closer. Just as it was about to strike, Juliana suddenly threw herself in front of it. Mirabelle gasped as her friend cried out in pain, falling to the ground. She knelt down, grabbing her friends hand, while tears began to fall from her bright blue eyes.

The group of rogue mages just grunted and started to walk past them, but didn't get very far. Guards surrounded them and casted a spell that instantly knocked them all out cold. Mages wearing white robes started to run toward the scene.

Mirabelle's tears were leaking down onto Juliana's clothes. "W-why did you do that?" She asked shakily.

Juliana looked weary and her face was starting to lose color, but she was smiling. "Because...you...defended me." She managed to say. "You're...my...best friend. You defended me...so I...defended...you."

The white mages were moving fast, but the nearest ward from which the came from was a little ways away from the scene. They departed quickly when they heard the call for help.

Mirabelle closed her eyes tightly, and gritted her teeth, trying not to cry so loudly. Guards came to them. One of them knelt down beside Mirabelle and Juliana.

"Hold on, young lady! Help is coming! Just hang in there!" He told her. But it didn't look like she could much longer. She had taken the full blow of a powerful fire spell at almost point blank range. Her clothes and skin where the fire struck were seared and burnt.

Mirabelle began to panic. Her best friend was slipping away fast. She knew it wouldn't be much longer before she would be gone. "When are they going to be here?" She doesn't have that much longer!" She yelled to the guard.

"The closest medical ward is a little far from here, but they are coming as quickly as possible. I assure you that!" The guard said. But he looked worried as well.

Mirabelle suddenly gasped. She realized that _she _was a white mage, so she can help Juliana!

"Wait! I can help her!" She faced her. "I can help you, Juliana! I can cast cure on you!" Juliana smiled again.

"I was...waiting for you to say that. This...is where _your_ magic will shine…"Juliana said. Mirabelle could tell that she was happy for her to actually be able to use her magic for a real purpose.

Mirabelle raised her hands over Juliana's wounds, and began to concentrate hard. A bright, warming green light appeared over the burnt and bleeding skin. It began to disappear, and her skin started to return to normal. Color began to return to Juliana's face.

"She's doing it! She's looking better already!" People from a small crowd around them started saying.

The white mages from the medical ward finally arrived. They ran over to where Juliana was, and saw Mirabelle healing her. "Well, it looks like someone beat us to it." One of them said.

The guard stood up and turned toward the mages. "This girl's best friend was hit by a fire spell from these suspicious mages. She healed her using only her hands. She looks like a promising young mage, wouldn't you agree?" He said.

"Yes, that is quite difficult to achieve at such a young age. That's very impressive, miss. You should consider joining the medical ward someday." He said.

Mirabelle smiled. She felt accomplished by saving her best friend's life. Juliana sat up and hugged her, forming tears in her eyes as well.

"I told you your magic is awesome! I think it's even greater than mine!" Juliana said, sounding completely back to normal.

Mirabelle didn't know it, but the shopkeeper of the small magic shop they had went to when they first entered the magic world was in that crowd. He smiled when he saw her use her white magic to save her friend's life.

"That was a touching story." Sevrin said, back in the present. "I'm glad that you were able to save your friend's life."

"Yeah, that's when I realized that white magic isn't that bad after all." Mirabelle replied.

"You bet it isn't bad! Your magic is really cool!" Neal said. Mirabelle smiled, looking at the ground while they walked.

"I guess so." She said.

"It works out perfectly though!" Midahn said. They turned toward him. "What do you mean?" Mirabelle asked.

"I know what he means." Neal said. "He's a black mage, and you're a white mage! So that makes us a great team!"

"Yeah, that's true. Both of you are amazing." Sevrin said. Mirabelle giggled.

"You guys. Midahn and I have been casting basic spells. They are the lowest level in power. You two haven't seen what magic can _really _do. There is magic that is ten times more powerful than what you've seen." She said.

"Are you serious?!" Neal said, amazed. She giggled at him.

"Yes, dummy!" She laughed. Neal shook his fist at her, and she laughed again. Neal smiled lightly.

_She seems happy again. I hate seeing her look depressed. Now I know why she is sad sometimes. She wanted to be a black mage, not a white._ He thought.

"Hey, look! I see something!" Midahn said, pointing ahead.

"It looks like a town. Wait! Do you see that in the distance? That looks like a castle." Sevrin said, peering way off into the distance.

"That must be the Rothguard castle, then." Mirabelle said.

"Oh yeah! Finally! It's time to slay some monsters! Let's go already! We can make it there in no time!" Neal shouted, and he sped off toward the castle.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I decided to post this one quickly after the last one, since the last chapter was about half the length of the others. We now know more about the two new mages that joined Neal and Sevrin. It also looks like they've reached their destination. Next time: What awaits the Warriors at the Rothguard kingdom?!


	8. Princess!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Seven - Princess!**

Neal ran with all his might all the way to the town, leaving his friends in the dust. The others laughed and tried to catch up to his spirit. He was fired up for the next adventure. Something interesting lied ahead in the large castle that was looming over the town of Ambervale.

Neal sped through the town, but suddenly skidded to a stop. He turned his head, noticing a small restaurant. His stomach started rumbling violently.

"Agh! I'm starving! Hey guys! Let's get something to eat, yeah?" He called out to his friends, who finally caught up to him.

"We need to go to the castle. There's no time for that-" Sevrin said, but stopped, as his stomach rumbled as well. Midahn and Mirabelle laughed.

"You're stomach says otherwise!" Midahn said, pointing at it and laughing. Sevrin scoffed, and they all entered the restaurant.

They sat down at a table for four. "Alright. Uhh…" Sevrin reached toward his pocket and pulled out a tiny bag. "I don't mean to be cheap, but I think we might need to all contribute for a meal." He opened up his small draw-string coin purse. It has little money inside.

Neal's eyes widened, and his face became a red, like Sevrin's. He looked away, and said, "I...yeah…"

"Don't worry about little things like that, you guys." Mirabelle said. "We're a team, so we can all contribute." She smirked deviously at them, and added, "For now." Neal scratched his head, not meeting anyone's eyes, and nodded.

They all pitched in what little gil they had to pay for their meals. Feeling completely satisfied, Neal leaned his head back, patting his stomach as they exited the restaurant. "Oh wow! That was great!"

"Let's head to the castle, then." Sevrin said. He turned around, after nobody said anything. "Where'd Neal go?" They looked all around, but couldn't find him.

"No way! Let's check this place out a little, first!" They heard Neal yell as he disappeared nearby. Sevrin balled his hands into fists. He let out an irritated groan. "Agh, Neal...he's so annoying sometimes…" He said.

"Yeah, that's true, but he has a good idea." Mirabelle said, smiling, as she skipped off toward the rows of small shops that lined the streets. Midahn took off after Mirabelle. Sevrin sighed. "Can't we just go straight to the objective?" He raised his hand toward Mirabelle and Midahn.

"Wait! Come back here whenever you're...done!" He called out to them. Mirabelle, who was still skipping away, turned her head, and placed her hands in front of mouth, to yell back.

"Okay! Whatever you say!" She shouted back, sounding almost like she was singing.

"Wait!" Sevrin yelled back again. Mirabelle stopped, and turned around again at Sevrin. She became irritated. "What?!" She called back, sounding just that.

"What about Neal?" He called out. She waved him off. "I'll get him, don't worry!" She and Midahn disappeared from Sevrin's sight. He sighed again, and sat down on a bench.

"Jeez, he's no fun!" Mirabelle said, and her smile returned. Midahn began skipping alongside her.

"What should we do, Mirabelle?" He said, looking excited. They looked around trying to find a shop with anything interesting inside.

Meanwhile, Neal was doing the same, but he was in the opposite direction from his friends. He ventured down the streets, looking for something interesting to do in the town. He turned a corner, and found himself in a small crowd of people who were gathered around a street performer. He was juggling small balls of fire. They weren't objects that were lit on fire, but just flames themselves. Suddenly, the balls turned into ice, and then lightning. The crowd applauded.

"Woah, this guy must be a mage or something." Neal said to himself. A small toddler from the front of the crowd threw something at juggler, and it hit one of the balls of lightning toward his face. He jumped up and was electrocuted slightly.

Neal laughed and bumped the guy next to him with his elbow. "This guy's a real knock up!" He turned away and started looking elsewhere. A young, blonde-haired girl was watching him from across the busy street. He started walking with a bunch of people, who were moving in all different directions. Fearing she would lose Neal from her sight in the sea of people, the girl gasped and quickly got up to follow him.

She started to lose him, since she was shorter than the adults who were walking down the street. She couldn't see that well, and had to jump up occasionally to spot him as she tried to follow. After another minute, she had lost sight of him. She started to run through the crowd of people.

_Oh no! Where did he go?_ She thought, looking left and right constantly. She could easily spot him again, from seeing his slightly spiky brown hair when she first saw them. From looking everywhere except in front her, she didn't see someone directly across from where she was running. She slammed into him, knocking him over.

"Ouch! What was that for, huh?!" The boy who she crashed into said. She was on her hands and knees, shaking her head. She stood up, raising her hands. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I…" She gasped as she saw who it was. It was the boy she was following.

"Hey, it's no big deal. Just be glad I didn't run into you!" He laughed. She was so scared from actually bumping into him, or rather, _slamming_ into him. Seeing him right in front of her, talking to her, made her freeze up. She'd never talked to a boy like that before, outside of her world…

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. She didn't know how long she was just standing there, not saying a word. He had a funny look on his face.

"Uh..I...uh…" Was all she could mutter. She was quivering all over. He noticed this, and came closer to her. "Are you hurt? I'm sorry about that…" He said.

"Oh...it's okay. You...don't have to apologize. It was my fault." She said. She is still quivering.

"You look kinda cold. You can wear this to warm up a bit." He takes off his cloak and puts it around her. It's a thin cloak, and simple. It was travelers' wear, and slightly tattered at the edges. Despite all of this, she liked it. She could tell it has a lot of use on it, which makes it more lively in her eyes. She blushed when he put it around her. "T-thanks. But what about you?" She asks.

He grinned. "Nothing to worry about! This isn't cold at _all_ for me!" She saw what he was wearing underneath his cloak. He had a brown short-sleeved shirt on. It was thick, and bound by leather around the rims. On top of that was a breastplate made of steel, which didn't cover his shoulders or arms. It was only his chest and abdominal region. She noticed a few scratches and dents on it, as if he faced battle before. Then she saw his arms. They were lean, but muscular. He looked very strong. She blushed again.

"Hey, do you want to walk around town or something?" He asked. Her heart skipped a beat. She's never done anything like that before. It excited her.

"S-sure! I'd love to!" She replied. He helped her up. She could tell he was trustworthy and good-hearted just by looking at him. His personality and appearance said a lot about his character. They started walking, but silence ensued.

_Oh man...offering her my cloak was so smooth! But I don't know what to say next! I've never gotten this far before. Every girl in Alryne couldn't stand me, so I haven't had much experience. But I can't pass this up! She's beautiful, but seems really nice too! _Neal thought, panicking in his mind.

"So, what's your name?" Neal asked her. _Always gotta start with the name!_ He stopped, and slapped himself on the head. "Agh...what am I doing?" She stopped as well, worried that he was about to change his mind and leave.

"How rude of me!" He laughed nervously. "I shouldn't just ask your name before telling you mine!" He said. Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was also relieved that he was nervous too. It seemed like it was his first time as well.

"My name's Neal!" He grinned at her. She smiled. She is fidgeting with her hands nervously underneath the cloak, but he couldn't tell. She was just about to respond, but stops suddenly.

_I can't tell him my real name! He could find out! That would be the end, if he found out who I was. He must be attracted to a simple kind of girl. If I was like that...Neal…_ She thought. She was lost in a fantasy in her mind.

"Rhea? That's a nice name!" Neal said. She gasped. That snapped her back into reality. _I said it?! Without even realizing it?!_

"So where should we go? I'm not from around here…" Neal said. Her heart was pounding, but hearing those words calmed her down. _So he doesn't know about me...Well, he still might have heard about me before. I shouldn't come to a conclusion just yet. But it doesn't seem it. That's good…_

"I know of a nice place. It's a park near the center of town, with a pond and grass and beautiful flowers. You need to see it if you haven't before!" She said. She then grabbed his arm and started walking. In his mind, Neal looked down shamefully. _That would have been smooth if I had taken her there myself… Now she's dragging me to it. Real cool, buddy…_

Along the way, they started talking. Rhea kept asking questions about Neal, as she wanted to find out more about him. She was doing her best to avoid telling him more about her.

"Why do you wear that armor?" She asked him. He looked down at his breastplate. "Well, I wear this armor to protect myself in battle…" He replied. She looked at him, confused.

"Why do you say it like that?" She asked. He tilted his head, confused as well. "What do you mean?"

"Usually someone would sound prideful when they say something like that. You sounded almost reluctant." She said.

"Well, I've fought and battled all during my life so far… Even though that's how I am, and I enjoy it, I kinda don't want that to only be what defines me. Sure, I wanna be acknowledged as tough, and someone you don't wanna mess with, but I don't want to appear as a wild animal. That's what a lot of people think of me as." He said. He was facing the ground as they were walking.

She could understand how he felt. He looked like a tough fighter to her, and it seems like he went through a lot growing up. "Where are you from, if I may ask?" She asked him.

"I'm from a village called Alryne. It's where people are raised to be strong warriors." He said.

"I've heard about that village, and many stories along with it. You had it hard growing up?" He nodded. After a moment of silence, he grinned, destroying the solemn atmosphere. "Hey, let's have some fun! Where's that park at?" She smiled, but was deep in thought. Suddenly, as they were walking down a street, she heard thudding and clanking of armor nearby.

"It's over this way!" She quickly turned him to the left and pushed him forward. "Woah!" He said, and he fell forward. She lost her balance and fell on top of him. Boxes and barrels around them scattered as they landed on the ground.

"Ouch. Is your sense of direction okay, Rhea?" He asked, scratching his head. She waited until the guards passed by them, not moving a muscle. "O-oops, my mista-" She was smiling nervously, but realized she just knocked him into an alleyway. She felt incredibly dumb.

_Wow, that was ridiculous… Oh no! What does he think of me now?" _She thought, and looked at him. He was laughing. "That was pretty funny, not gonna lie! You're something, Rhea." Her heart starting beating faster, as she was still on top of him. He helped her up.

"There's a shortcut through here…" She said, looking embarrassed. He was still laughing as they started to make their way through the dark alleyway. He was laughing on the outside, but inside he was preparing himself. _Every town has 'em. Any second now…_

They stopped. Two men holding knives were blocking their way. Neal protectively stood in front of Rhea, preparing to fight. Rhea became nervous. This was a tight situation she had never been in before. She thought Neal was going to draw that huge sword on his back. It looked very intimidating.

_Knew it. _Neal thought. "Always a sleazy part of town…" He muttered to himself, gritting his teeth.

"What was that, punk?" One of them said. The darkness of the alleyway hid their faces in shadows. They took a step closer to Neal.

"Look what we have here. A pretty little lady, and a brat." The other said. Rhea began to quiver, and grabbed Neal's arm.

"You should come over here, miss. We're not gonna hurt ya. But no promises for the kid, though." They started to laugh.

"Stay back, Rhea. I won't let them lay a finger on you." Neal said confidently. Rhea was still scared. They both looked pretty big. She let go of his arm, and stepped back slowly. "Not gonna comply, punk? Well, you're in for a world of hurt."

Neal smiled at them. "What's with the look, tough guy?" One of them said. Neal laughed at them. They scoffed, and gripped their weapons even tighter. "What's so funny, kid? We're gonna mess you up good!" Before they could even make a move, Neal dashed straight toward the larger one.

He jumped up and punched him straight across the face. The large thug took a step back.

"Well, you got guts, kid. But that's about it." He swung at Neal with his knife. Rhea gasped, but Neal dodged it with ease. He swung again, and again, but missed. He lunged at Neal, intending to stab. Neal grabbed his arm, and knocked the knife out of his hand. Right after that, he pushed that arm aside and went straight for a powerful uppercut to his chin. Neal's fist slammed his head upwards, knocking the thug out cold. He turned toward the other one.

"Your turn?" He asked. The remaining man started to shake with fear. That kid took out the much larger one, so he couldn't stand a chance. He took off running past them.

Neal grabbed Rhea's arm and started to head out of the alleyway. "Hey, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I shouldn't have taken you through an alleyway like that. I'm sorry. Let me get you somewhere safe."

"No, don't be sorry! It was my fault! I said it was a shortcut in the first place. I'm really sorry you had to do that, Neal…" She said.

He turned toward her. Tears were starting to brim in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? It's okay! I beat them, so don't worry, alright?" He put his hand on her shoulder. He became nervous that he had frightened her.

"I-I've caused you nothing but trouble, Neal. I shouldn't probably go now. I'm so sorry…" She said, almost starting to cry. _She's such a sweet and innocent girl…_ Neal thought.

"Why so soon? You haven't even shown me this park yet." He said. She looked up at him. He was grinning. "Hey, don't sweat it! That was nothing! Besides, what's life without a little adventure?"

_Adventure…_ She thought. _The exciting parts of life. I've always wished to experience that. But tonight has been quite an adventure, especially with Neal. I'm so glad I've met him. He's very adventurous. And I've only just met him earlier today…_

She smiled, and wiped the tears away. "It's over here!" They finally made it to the park. The moon was shimmering over the dark blue pond. All around it is green grass, and colorful flowers. They sat underneath a tree, whose leaves were rustling from the light breeze. It is mid-autumn, and the leaves had changed into brilliant red, yellow, and orange colors. The nights were becoming more chilly, as winter was on its way.

"Wow, this really is a beautiful place." Neal said. He was looking up at the stars in the night sky. They were quiet for a while, observing the beauty of the park. After a few minutes, Neal turned towards Rhea.

"I haven't heard much about you, Rhea. Are you from around here?" He asked. She had hoped that he didn't.

"Well…" She looked down at the soft grass. She couldn't tell him about her. It could ruin it. He wouldn't like her. But she couldn't say nothing either. "Yes."

"That's nice. This place is pretty cool. It's lively, even at night." Rhea looked at the castle looming in the distance. The sight of it made her groan. She turned toward Neal.

"Have you seen the castle?" She asked him. He peered at it in the distance. It stood on top of a hill, so it looms over the town.

"Nope. It sounds interesting though." He said.

"There's a real king and queen, and even a princess too." She said. He put his hands behind his head. "Huh. That's neat. I've never seen a king or queen before. Or anyone royal, now that I think about it." He replied.

"What do you think about a princess?" She asked. She was waiting to hear what he thought for a while.

"A princess, huh? Seems way beyond me…" He said. She looked down sadly. _I knew it…_

"I'm just a nobody. I couldn't see myself affiliate with anyone royal, unless I got in trouble." He laughed. "That seems more like the case."

She didn't know what to say. "Doesn't really matter to me. I really like this place, Rhea. This is amazing…" He wasn't even looking at the castle at all. She snapped herself out of it. She didn't want to think about it at all.

"Yeah, I love this place. It's so peaceful, even in the rain." She said. "I'm glad I met you, Neal. This is the most fun I've had in a long time." He grinned.

"Nice to meet ya too, Rhea! This was a really fun night!" He said.

"Really?" She said. She thought she messed up his night by bumping into him in the first place. Some part of her wishes she never did, but she also was glad. She'd never had such a crazy night before, and she experienced it with him.

"Yeah! We should do it again! I'll be here for a while." He said.

"For a while?" She said, sounding a little sad. He realized this too. He wasn't gonna be here forever. Soon he would move on with his friends to another place, wherever their quest leads them.

"Yeah… I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here. I've got a mission soon. But I don't know what will happen after that…" He told her.

"I see." It just wasn't meant to be, she thought. _He deserves better, anyways. He would hate to be stuck in one place for a lifetime. I'll have to move on…_

When Rhea saw Neal earlier that day, she noticed something about him. She noticed how adventurous and high-spirited he was. He looked very interesting, and she became curious about him. That's when she decided to follow him…

"Oh no! I think I probably need to go…" Neal said. "My friends are waiting for me, no, probably wanting to kill me right now." He laughed. It was getting late. Rhea had to go to. She needed to go before something would happen.

"I must go, too. It's been a wonderful night, Neal. I'm really glad to have met you." She said, almost reluctantly. Neal stood up.

"You're saying that as if it was the last time! No way!" He said, grinning. Her eyes widened.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked.

"I wanna see you again, Rhea! Is that alright?" He said. He helped her up. "Yes, I'd like that." SHe said, smiling.

"How about tomorrow? Are you available?" He asked. Her heart starting beating stronger. _So soon…?_

"I-I don't know. I would love to, but I'm not sure if I could." She said. Internally, she was picturing another night with Neal. She wanted to do it again for many nights.

"That's okay. Let's bank on maybe!" He said. He was getting ready to go. He waved, but she ran over to him and hugged him. "Goodbye, Neal!"

He was confused. It sounded again like she was leaving the planet. "Hey there, I'll make sure it's not the last time. You can count on it!"

Rhea saw in the distance, that he ran into someone. It was another girl, the same age as them. She looked angry, and smacked him. He put up his hands to brace himself from her viciousness. He was laughing as well.

_His friends… I hope he will be okay on his mission. Goodbye, Neal…_ She thought. They left.

She started to walk away from the park as well. She heard clanking of armor again. Guards approached her.

"Princess Rhea, you had us worried sick!"

Back at the front of the restaurant, Mirabelle dragged Neal over to a bench. Sevrin had a deadly look on his face. Hours of impatience built up in him.

"I _finally_ found him _all _the way in the center of the town! I searched everywhere for you, jerk!" She said angrily. He scratched his head. "Sorry."

Sevrin sighed. "When you said you wanted to check out the place, I didn't think you were going to thoroughly explore the entire town… Hours and hours…" He said.

"You were sitting there the _whole_ time? How lame!" Neal said. He looked at Mirabelle.

"I was worried about you…" She said, looking directly into his eyes, sounding completely different than a moment ago.

"Don't worry about me. I was fine. In fact," He turned toward Sevrin with a smirk, "I went out on a date!"

Sevrin shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah right, pal. You're the opposite of smooth…" He laughed.

Mirabelle didn't really know how she felt. _A date…? Wait why am I even thinking about it at all?_

"That's not true, buddy! I'm smoother than you are!" Neal pointed his thumb at himself, leaning in towards Sevrin. "Like hell, you are!" He replied.

Neal smirked again. "Well, while you were sleeping on the 'ole bench, your _pal_ was on a date!"

"Are you serious, Neal? You went out with a girl? What did you do?" He asked.

"Just talked, walked around town, and she took me over to the park in the center of town, where we just talked some more." He replied confidently.

"Seems legit, I guess." Sevrin said. He put up his fist. Neal fist bumped him. "Neal's pretty cool!" Midahn said, putting his fist up as well. Neal laughed. "You bet!" He bumped Midahn's fist too.

"Whatever, let's just go to the Inn. It's cold out." Mirabelle said. Neal tried to grab his cloak to give to her, but realized it's not on him.

"I would've gave you my cloak, Mirabelle, but I forgot I leant it to my," He turned toward Sevrin. "Date." Sevrin balled his hands into fists.

"Alright now you're just bragging!" He said, shaking his fist. Neal put up his hands. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. That's not cool. I've just never had one before." They checked into a room, and turned in for the night. For some reason, Mirabelle couldn't fall asleep for awhile.

The next morning, they depart for the castle. They start to climb the large hill where the castle sits. They arrive at the front gate, where guards with huge lances stood.

"Halt. State your names and business." One said. They see the group's weapons, and don't sound too friendly.

"Hey. How's it goin'?" Neal said. The others sighed.

"I don't intend on repeating myself again." He replied with the same tone.

"My name's Neal. We are here to help!" Neal replied.

"Help with what?" The guard said. The others looked confused.

"To kill some monsters that are causin' trouble, of course." Neal said. The guards laughed.

"You? Kids? Don't be ridiculous." The guard said, holding back a laugh himself.

"You want it or not?" Neal said, sounding impatient.

"We have this situation under control. Go home and quit playing around. That weapon you got is dangerous, kid. It's not a toy." The guard told him.

Neal smiled. "That thing you got there looks like one." The guard clenched his fists. "Watch it! Quit meddling around on castle grounds!"

"Alright I'm just messin' around. But seriously, we were sent here to help you." Neal said, sounding more serious.

"Who would request you? Besides, I already told you we have it under control." The guard said.

"I don't think that's the case." Sevrin said. "We heard that even the town might be in danger pretty soon."

The guard scoffed. "We can handle it. What could you do, anyways. You look like normal kids…"

"We can slay more of them than your army could!" Neal shouted. He swung his sword from around his back and held it up high. The guards stiffened, and readied to point their lances at him.

"Relax, pal. Try wielding this. I wanna see if you can even _hold_ it." Neal said laughingly.

The guard laughed back. "Are you implying that the Rothguard castle's men are _weak_? Give me a break, kid." He leaned his lance against the wall and walked over to Neal.

"This thing may be big, but it doesn't seem like a-" He stopped as he tried to pick it up. His eyes widened. He looked at Neal with disbelief.

"Wha-what is this? Who are you? Stay back!" The guards pointed their weapons at Neal and his friends. Neal slowly picked up his sword. The guards started to sweat. He sheathed it on his back.

"Don't worry!" Neal laughed. "We came here to help you guys out. What do ya say?" He raised his two hands out in a persuasive manner.

"I-I will request you an audience with the king." The guard said. They let them inside. Sevrin nudged Neal. "Did you have to do that? You don't have to drag things out, you know." He whispered.

Inside, the castle had immense architecture. The stairs spiraled around to the second floor, and a balcony overlooked the main hall. Red carpet with gold trim lined the floor from the entrance, and large statues of knights stood on each side of them.

"This place is very elaborate!" Mirabelle noted as she looked around with wonder.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it!" Midahn said. The guards stopped at the end of the hall, and informed them to wait for permission to speak to the king. A guard opened the door after a few minutes and nodded his head to the others.

"Follow me. This is the way to the king's throne." The guard said. They followed him into the next room, which was even more decorative than the main hall. There were two thrones of gold at the end of the room. One of them was empty. In the other, the king sat. When they all entered the room, the guards kneeled in front of the king. Neal and the others quickly did the same.

"Who might we have here?" The king said. Sevrin slowly looked back up at the king.

"We have...come to...assist with the problem of monsters attacking the kingdom...your Majesty." Sevrin said. He sounded like he didn't know how to speak to someone of the king's importance.

"Oh? And what help can you bring to this problem? You don't look like much…" The king said. He seemed slightly confused as why four kids were directly asking him to help. He was wondering even more why his guards let them through.

"We can...fight?" Sevrin said. He didn't even sound too sure of himself at this point. The guard looked at them blankly. Midahn raised his head.

"Lady Raldah told us to come here! She said we can help get rid of the monsters!" He said enthusiastically. The other three scolded him for yelling at the king.

"Raldah? This means you four are…who I think you are?" The king suddenly became interested. The group realized that king might know about the Warriors of the Light. Midahn nodded his head.

"Ah! Then I have been expecting you! Welcome to the kingdom of Rothguard. I am the royal king of Isthal. My name is Edwyn." The king stood up.

"I'm Midahn! That's Mirabelle, Sevrin, and Neal!" He was pointing to each one of his friends. Hearing that name, a girl suddenly peeked around a corner of the room. Neal noticed this from the corner of his eye, and glanced over to the edge of the wall. His eyes widened. The girl quickly disappeared.

"It's a pleasure to have met you all. Please, come this way." King Edwyn started to walk down a corridor leading towards the back of the castle. Neal's eyes were still wide as he followed. He was trying to think if that girl was the one he was thinking of.

"I have heard the tale of the Warriors of the Light. Raldah, the great Visionary, and I go way back. She had sent word recently of a group of kids who will come to aid with the trouble behind our kingdom, so I immediately recognized who you were when you spoke her name." The king said.

"We traveled all the way from Gariland to help!" Midahn said.

_Gariland… so that means it is coming again… The prophecy will be fulfilled again. It has been a while… _The king thought.

When they reached the end of the corridor, they found themselves high upon the back castle wall, overlooking the vast landscape beyond. There, they could see tents set up in small camp fashion in many different areas.

"Are those all soldier camps, your Majesty?" Sevrin said, leaning over the edge of the stone wall.

"Yes." He said gravely. "Each day, a large infestation of monsters moves closer to our kingdom, but especially to our townsfolk. Our soldiers are constantly having to retreat, and as you can see, this is how close they are now. Our numbers are beginning to run thin. They have become a high threat."

"We can help take _their _numbers, your Majesty! You can count on us!" Neal said.

"I hope so." He replied, smiling. He completely trusted Raldah, as Midahn's hometown is a strong ally to the nation of Isthal. _These kids look very promising. They will all become very powerful warriors…_

The king told them to be at ease for now, as the monsters attack them the most during the night. He directed them to the soldiers' quarters, where they were fitted with proper armor.

"This thing is too bulky…" Neal said, looking down at the huge chestplate that covered his entire upper body. "I can hardly move my arms with this. Do you have one that doesn't cover the arms or shoulders?"

A few minutes later, a girl nervously entered the room. It became quiet. Neal was taking off the big hunk of armor, and looked around at the guards next to him. They were bowing their heads. He turned around, and his eyes widened. It was Rhea.

"Princess Rhea." The guards said respectively as they bowed their heads. She was looking at Neal. After a moment of silence and surprise, he grinned. "Rhea!"

Sevrin smacked him on the shoulder. "That's the princess, man! Show some respect!"

She looked down. "That's okay. We've met before." She said. Sevrin's mouth was agape. He didn't believe it.

"You're the princess?" Neal said, in disbelief. She looked sad.

"Y-yes." She replied. Neal was wondering why she was talking so much about it when they were at the park last night. Rhea was surprised that Neal's mission was with the kingdom, and she knew that Neal saw her earlier.

"I'm sorry for hiding it from you yesterday." She said reluctantly.

"What's wrong?" Neal said.

"I-I just wanted to return this to you. I'm sorry I forgot to return it to you." It was his cloak. It was folded neatly in her hands. She handed it to him and quickly left the room.

"Wait!" Neal said, reaching his hand out. Once he saw the cloak, Sevrin knew that Neal wasn't lying. He still couldn't believe that Neal went on a date with an actual princess.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! Neal discovered that he spent his previous night with a princess! Unexpected turn of events? I don't think so. It was obvious the whole time. Next time: the mission begins?!


	9. Guard Breaker!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Eight - Guard Breaker!**

"Wait!" Neal said, reaching his hand out to her. She turned around apprehensively. Everyone looked back and forth between the two.

"Y-yes?" Rhea replied. She looked ashamed, ever since she entered the room. Neal lowered his hand.

"Is everything okay?" Neal said. Her face became red from all the pairs of eyes focused on her. She grabbed his hand and quickly ran outside the room. The guards quickly stood up, but she turned and told them to wait for a moment.

"What's going on?" Neal said as they entered another room.

"I couldn't say anything with everyone in the room." She said, holding her two hands together.

"Well what is it that you wanted to say?" Neal asked. He was completely confused.

"I-I'm sorry for lying to you…" She said, looking away.

"Huh?" He said. Then he understood what she meant. "Don't get upset about it. How come you didn't say so from the beginning?" He tilted his head. "Now that I think about it, How come you were out in the town by yourself dressed like an average person?" A shiver ran down his back.

_We were in an alleyway and ran into armed people that attacked. I could get killed for that…_

Rhea saw his sweat and the expression on his face. "Don't worry, Neal. I came into town by myself, on my own accord. You wouldn't be responsible for anything." He breathed a sigh of relief. Then she mumbled something quietly under her breath. Neal thought he heard 'I think' and became panicked again. She giggled and shook her head jokingly.

"Why, then?" He asked. She looked down at the exquisite dress she was wearing.

"Because… I don't like it. I don't like this kind of life." Rhea said. Neal was still uncertain.

"How come?" He asked. "I couldn't say I'd agree or disagree, since I have no idea what it is like." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I feel trapped inside here. I hardly ever leave from these walls." She looked around the room, but her expression wasn't of admiration of the room's beauty, but rather bored and sickened.

"Man, that sounds aw-" Neal started to say.

"Also," Rhea interrupted, completely ignoring him. She suddenly became irritated. "I always have to confide by my fathers' orders, no matter what. Even down to when I am allowed to speak or not when we host so called 'important guests'. It's ridiculous! I always have to be present, looking my very best and just smiling at all of these random people, nothing else!" She was looking at her hands, where she was counting each reason. Her voice became more and more angry. Neal hadn't seen her act like this before. She turned toward him, with an angry face. He was quivering at how angry she was. _Man! Women can be so scary!_

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I just can't help it sometimes. I feel like I have no freedom. You understand, don't you Neal?" She said. Her facial expression became normal again.

"Uh…" He almost wanted to slip out of the room somehow. "Yeah, I guess." He scratched his head, not looking to certain. Then he thought about it.

"Actually I can see what you mean. You can never leave this place, from the way you put it. That kinda sucks. And you have to act fake to people since you are royal, huh. That sounds pretty familiar..." He thought about when he would cause trouble and have to suddenly act innocent and nice when the Chief would appear. But it usually never worked.

"Still." Neal said. "Why did you go into town all by yourself, unprotected and alone yesterday?"

"I know I shouldn't have did that, causing worry by sneaking out, but," She sighed. "I wanted to explore a little and experience the world outside of this kingdom. The outside world fascinates me…" She said. He remembered how curious she was about him and his experiences last night.

Neal laughed. "I see! I don't blame ya! I couldn't stay in this place for long." She smiled. But then he became serious again.

"But I do know that royal family is very important, and isn't something you can just abandon or think lightly of, you know."

"I know…" Rhea said. "That's why I feel trapped sometimes."

Soon enough, night began to fall in Isthal. Neal and the others were prepared to enter the battlefield.

"You guys ready?" He turned towards his friends. He was excited for their first mission. He was smiling with determination.

"Yeah, you bet." Sevrin said. Mirabelle and Midahn nodded. They were right outside of the rear castle wall.

"Let's go!" Neal said, and took off toward the makeshift camps in the near distance. They could hear the clanking of his armor as he ran. It was difficult for him to find armor that he liked earlier. He wanted to be able to move easy, and not be held down by heavy armor all over his body. He chose slightly lighter armor than the standard for the guards.

The others started to quickly follow him. Rhea was watching them from the top of the castle wall. She was watching Neal head off, and from her view, she could see the fighting just beyond the makeshift camps. The monsters were even closer to the castle than before. She became worried.

Neal and the others reached the camps. They started looking around for any soldiers, but there was nobody around.

"Where are they?" Mirabelle said, sounding uneasy. Neal and Sevrin searched through a few rows of tents.

"Are they dead or something?" Neal said. Mirabelle and Midahn looked frightened.

"Don't come to conclusions so soon!" Mirabelle said.

"Well, let's go up the hill and see what the defense line is like!" Sevrin said, and started running past the camp. They quickly followed. They reached the peak of the hill, and finally saw the battleground, which was illuminated by the moonlight. They heard shouts of men, grueling battle cries of monsters, and clashing everywhere. There were tons of monsters, and not as many soldiers. They could see flashes of light occasionally from place to place. There were a few battle mages along these front lines.

"Wow, there's a ton of 'em." Neal remarked after examining the entire field.

"It looks like the amount of soldiers have been decreasing lately." Sevrin said. It looked like their defensive front was becoming thin.

"Then that must mean everyone in the camp is out there, doesn't it?" Mirabelle said. Sevrin nodded. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yeah. If any of them happen to get through, the only thing that would stop them then would be the guards outside the walls. They really are in trouble out there, huh…" Sevrin said.

"Let's give them everything we've got then!" Neal shouted. The made their way down the hill, and met up with a soldier who had his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He looked up at them.

"Man, there's no stopping these things! Who are you? Reinforcements?" He said, trying to catch his breath. He had to shout from all of the noise just up ahead.

"We're here to help! The king sent us!" They told him. "Children?" He thought, but then noticed their weapons. "Well, we accept all the help we can get!" He shrugged, then stood up and charged back into the front.

Neal drew his huge sword. Sevrin drew his twin knives. Midahn and Mirabelle took out their staffs. She immediately began healing nearby soldiers. Midahn ran over to the nearest black mage and began supporting him.

"Let's go!" Neal shouted as he leapt over the line and slashed heavily at a group of monsters, cleaving them in half. Sevrin quickly dashed between them, slashing and piercing them in many different areas, dropping them instantly.

"Woah!" Nearby soldiers said. "Reinforcements!" They all shouted and charged at the monsters, now with a higher morale.

"I know you guys must be exhausted, but we gotta push them back! Do it for the kingdom!" Neal said, as he swung his sword up and guarded against a powerful blow.

The battle raged on, and the sheer numbers of the monsters still held an advantage over the tired soldiers. They were not holding up.

Midahn was blasting away at the monsters with fire spells. The other black mage was casting stronger spells, clearly being more experienced and older. They quickly defeated them with their spells, but more kept taking their place.

Mirabelle was healing soldiers as quickly as she could. The amount of white mages per amount of soldiers was few, so she had to heal a large amount of them. Since she joined with Midahn, Neal, and Sevrin, she's been using white magic much more, and began increasing her power. She was holding up fairly well in the battle.

After hours of continuous fighting, the soldiers grew even more exhausted. They were beginning to falter. Neal and Sevrin were drenched in sweat, and starting to need to catch their breath. They were steadily making some progress, but with the condition of the soldiers, there wouldn't be much hope.

"Come on! Keep...fighting!" Neal shouted, gritting his teeth and sweating. The soldiers tried to continue attacking, but were struggling and staggering back. Neal became angry at the seemingly hopeless outcome that would occur if they keep tiring out. He continued to wildly cut through them, although much slower than earlier.

"Kid!" One of the soldiers said. He was on one knee, but he was holding his large shield in front of him. He looked like a higher rank than the rest. "You should rest up or move to another spot down the line! I think we can hold this area now!"

Neal looked around each side, and noticed the area he was fighting in had become less concentrated. He nodded to the knight and sped off down the line to find where he was needed more.

"Push them back! Do not falter!" He heard someone say up ahead. He saw another knight, much like the previous one, who was pointing his sword towards the group of monsters. But the men were weary, like the rest. The knight was still standing strong. He turned when he saw Neal approaching.

"Who's this? Hey! You! Formation two! Stand!" He yelled. Neal jumped over to the side of him, gripping his sword tightly.

"I don't know what that means, but I'll help you clear them out!" Neal shouted back. They turned toward the wave of monsters again.

"A fresh recruit? I didn't know we were that desperate as to recruit children, but you look capable enough!" The knight said. Neal spun around and slashed vigorously at a large group of death claws. He split off all of their claw-like arms in one impressive swing.

"Hmph. Not bad, soldier! Keep that up and we might stand a chance!" The knight remarked. He leapt forward with his shield in one hand, and a steel sword in the other. He lunged at a large death claw, piercing right through its heart.

Neal continued to fight alongside the knight. It became midnight. The moon and the stars lit up the battlefield, and bloodshed stained the ground. Casualties became an even larger issue, as numbers began to decrease more rapidly as the night fell on.

"We must stop them at all costs. For the kingdom of Rothguard, go forth!" The knight shouted. He and Neal were the only ones able to stand in the area they were at.

Mirabelle fell to the ground, breathing heavily. She had finally become exhausted of magical energy after hours. Midahn, had to fall back and recover as well. Despite his natural talents in black magic, his endurance in magic energy was still fairly weak since he is still fairly young.

Although the line was greatly weakened, they still pulled through. The amount of monsters had decreased significantly. Their hopes grew again, like when the Warriors of the Light first entered the fray.

"Yeah! Cut them all down! We can do it!" Neal shouted, but he was almost panting. The knight he was supporting was worn out. He looked at Neal, who still looked completely determined and refusing to give up. He didn't want to be outshined by a kid, but he admired his courage and endurance.

Sevrin could hear Neal's cries from down the line, and stood back up. He knew Neal more than anybody, and knows that Neal has a ridiculous amount of endurance, and stubbornness to not give up. He rejoined the battle with a second wind given to him by his friends courage.

With their once again higher morale, the soldiers started to push the monsters back. Eventually, the few monsters that remained began to scatter away from them. The whole line roared and cheered. Many fell to their knees or onto the ground, breathing sighs of relief and victory.

The knight walked over to Neal, and put his armored hand onto Neal's shoulder. "You're quite the fighter, kid. I acknowledge your strength and courage. It is amazing to possess this much will at such a young age." He said.

Neal grinned. "Yeah, you bet! You're amazing as well! You made it seem like this was nothing!"

The knight laughed at his childish remarks. "What's your name, kid?"

"My name's Neal Faris, sir!" He replied. The knight offered his hand.

"Sir Vyncent." They shook hands. Neal noticed the crest on his armor, and how it was much larger and more significant than the rest of the soldiers' armor.

"Are you a knight?" He asked him. The knight nodded.

"Yes. I'm the captain of the Royal Squadron of Rothguard." He said proudly.

"Woah… That sounds really tough!" Neal said.

"We are the highest ranked knights in Rothguard, so we sure do have to be tough." Vyncent said.

"You've got quite a massive sword there." He said, looking impressed. "It's as big as you are."

Neal grinned. "I worked really hard to be able to even hold it!" He said proudly. Vyncent examined him up and down.

"I could see a great future for you. Knighthood is something really challenging to achieve, but I think you have what it takes. You should consider it…" He said, nodding.

Before Neal could reply, the ground began to shake. Everyone started to brace themselves for another attack. It sounded like huge footsteps approaching them, each pounding into the earth becoming stronger and stronger. A soldier perked up. He turned to where the shaking was coming from.

"No… it couldn't be…" He said, sounding frightened. "What is it?" Soldiers around him said, seeing the fear in his eyes.

Suddenly, he could see what was approaching. He started to step backwards. Panic started to uprise in the line. Neal looked around, confused.

"It's…It's… the Iron Giant!" The soldier said. Many of them gasped.

"What's the Iron Giant?" Neal asked.

Vyncent became serious again. He grunted. "You better stay out of this one… The Iron Giant is a large monster clad in extremely tough armor. And his sword… is as tall as two whole men."

Neal's eyes widened. "That's...huge…" Then he could see it, emerging from the thick forest.

He started to tremble. It had dark, menacing armor covering its enormous body. Two wicked spikes came out of its shoulders, and the same for its helmet, which covered its lurid face.

"Stay back, Neal." Vyncent said. "Men! Prepare for our final line of defense! This must be the last one!" He shouted across the field. The strongest soldiers remaining stood up and readied their shields.

Neal raised his hand up to protest, but Vyncent had turned away and quickly ran toward the front of the line. The soldiers condensed into a more solid formation, as the giant was the only remaining enemy. They gathered together in the center of the field. The Iron Giant kept stepping closer and closer. He stopped in front of the line. The soldiers looked up at it, waiting for it to make a move. It stood there for a few moments, staring at the worn down group of men standing in his way.

Finally, after what seemed like a long an eery silence, he slowly started to raise his huge sword into the air.

"Get ready!" the soldiers raised up their shields, but it seemed almost puny compared to the massive giant.

It swung down onto the line, striking the front heavily. It was so powerful that it sent those in the rear flying backwards from the heavy wind created by the blow. Neal was flung backwards, landing hard on his back. He sat back up, and saw the giant raise its foot up, as if preparing to crush them.

"No!" He leapt up, and started running toward them. He didn't know where Mirabelle, Sevrin, and Midahn were in the huge cluster of soldiers. He feared that they might be crushed. He swung his sword out and ran furiously toward the giant.

It's giant iron clad boot slammed down onto a group of soldiers, killing them instantly. Seeing this, Neal shouted with rage and ran even faster toward it. He stopped. His eyes grew wide with immense anger. When the giant stamped his foot onto the ground, a soldier who was just outside its range was knocked backwards. He collided into Mirabelle, who cried out in pain as she flew backwards. He saw her white robes lying there, motionless. He turned toward the giant.

His eyes became sinister, staring right into the chilling yellow eyes of the giant. His anger fueled his drive to utterly destroy the monster that hurt his friend.

He yelled out as he dashed toward the giant, raising his sword up high. The few soldiers on the sides of the giant who tried to strike it only created sparks from the clashing of metal, doing absolutely no damage. They turned around, as Neal was running toward it, roaring with all his might. They jumped out of the way. Vyncent, who was near the front of the line, cried out for him to retreat. But he ignored him, as nothing was going through his mind except to kill the giant.

Mirabelle could hear Neal as he dashed toward the giant. She managed to barely sit up. She looked at Neal's face as he ran at the monster. It almost scared her. She hasn't seen this side of him before.

Neal jumped up, and swung his sword back, preparing to slash it. He shouted "Guard Breaker!" and struck the giant's chest with all of his might. The power of this rage-driven strike sent a shockwave on the ground, and his blade lit up. He cut deep into the giant's armor, splitting right through across its entire upper body. It looked completely inhuman.

Neal landed on the ground, holding onto his sword which was touching the ground. The Iron Giant staggered backwards from Neal's intense attack.

"That...was the Guard Breaker attack!" Soldiers would say. "The Guard Breaker… a legendary technique used with a cleaver to strike an opponent so hard that it pierces almost any armor, leaving them vulnerable. I can't believe this kid executed it so well at such a young age…" Vyncent said, completely in awe.

_Hmph… I've been working on that move for a while. Looks like I didn't have enough drive for it before…_ Neal thought. He still had a stern, serious look on his face as he turned around.

"What are you waiting for?! It's vulnerable now! Finish it off!" He shouted at the dumbstruck soldiers. They snapped back into reality, and charged at the stumbling Iron Giant. Neal stood up and started to walk away from it. He was walking over to where Mirabelle was. She was watching him the whole time. As he came over to her, her skin began to crawl. Neal's anger had scared her, and he looked like he was about to murder her.

He knelt down beside her, and calmed down. He looked normal again. "Are you alright, Mirabelle?" He asked her softly. She nodded. He picked her up, holding her with his two hands.

"I'm sorry you got hurt like that…" He said. "I was thrown back by its first strike, but that's no excuse." She remembered that he promised her that he would never let her get hurt. But she knew that that was impossible.

"It's fine, Neal… There's no way you'd be able to do that…Don't beat yourself up about it." She said. He was looking towards the giant, which had just crashed down from the barrage of soldiers attacking it in the gaping wound that he had opened from his Guard Breaker strike.

It caused the ground to shake before it shattered into pieces and dissolved into the night.

"You were scary." Mirabelle said, looking up at him. He looked down at her, and laughed.

"You think so?" He was grinning. His face was cheerful and funny again. His face looked so much different than just a few moments ago. It was like he had two different personalities, Mirabelle noticed.

"Yeah, you dummy." She giggled. He laughed. "Seeing you cry out in pain made me mad, so I couldn't help it, I guess."

Sevrin and Midahn ran over to them. "Are you okay, Mirabelle?!" They said. She nodded. Then they looked up at Neal.

"You...hit that thing pretty hard, man." Sevrin said. "I didn't know you had that in you." He was in a little shock at seeing his power like that.

"It was awesome!" Midahn shouted. "You cut it so hard that its armor split open!" Neal laughed.

"Yeah, I sure did…" He said.

Sir Vyncent declared victory on the battlefield, and everyone cheered. The soldiers started to head back to the camp. Many had to support each other as they walked wearily away from the ground that they fought so hard to protect. Two men approached Neal and his friends. One was Sir Vyncent, and the other was the knight that Neal first fought with when they joined the battle.

"Sir Vyncent!" Neal said. Vyncent nodded at him. "I'm glad you all are okay. You four must be the ones who his Majesty informed me of, then. I'm grateful for your assistance on the battlefield. You helped us finally put an end to this invasion." The four of them smiled.

"I am Sir Vyncent, a knight of the Rothguard kingdom." He addressed to the other three. "This man is Sir Wymond." Wymond nodded his head to them. Then he turned to Neal.

"I am grateful you were by my side earlier tonight, Neal. You helped us turn the tides in the battle." He said.

"Come, let us return to the camp. It is late in the night, and I know you all must be tired. I've sent word to the guards at the kingdom of our victory. We will report to his Majesty first thing in the morning." Vyncent said. They left for the camp.

As they walked back, Mirabelle looked at Neal, who was still carrying her. She kept seeing his face when he struck the Iron Giant. It made her feel uneasy. But she also felt something about him, something completely different. She felt his friendliness and warmth, and that he would always be by her side. But he became enraged because of her getting in harms way. It still sent chills down her spine.

In the morning, everyone returned to the castle. Sir Vyncent and Wymond took Neal and the others to the king directly. They all knelt before King Edwyn in the hall. Rhea was present as well, seated next to the king himself.

When they finished bowing, Neal looked up at Rhea. She blushed and smiled nervously.

"Your Majesty, it pleases me to report that we have successfully defended the kingdom against the invasion. But if it were not the aid from this group of kids, we might not have made it." Sir Vyncent said. The king nodded.

"I'm glad that you were able to hold them off. Thank you for your assistance, Warriors." The king looked at Neal, Sevrin, Mirabelle, and Midahn. They bowed their heads. After everyone else had left the room, the king wanted to speak to the four of them alone.

"I was told you four were remarkable in combat. I wanted to thank you all again for your help." The king said.

"It was no problem, your Majesty." Neal said. "We were glad to able to help, your Majesty." Mirabelle said. The king smiled.

"You've done very well. However, your _real_ mission will begin tomorrow." He said. They looked up, confused. Rhea even looked over at her father, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Real...mission?" Sevrin said.

"Yes, indeed." The king said. "I have a true task fit only for Warriors of the Light. The battle only proved you all worthy enough to be able to complete this task." The four Warriors looked back and forth between each other, uncertain at what kind of 'task' only they could complete.

"What is this task, your Majesty?" Sevrin asked.

"I entrust you four to journey to the top of Mount Ulhr, located in the mountain ranges to the east of here. There, you will enter the Crystal Cave." Their ears perked when they heard that.

"Crystal Cave?" Neal asked.

"Hm? So you have heard of it before?" The king said.

"Yes, we have, your Majesty. Lady Raldah told us about it. But… she said we are far from ready for entering the cave." Mirabelle said.

"Ah, yes. That is true." He said.

"Then what are we going to do, your Majesty?" Midahn asked.

"You are not going to enter the cave. There is a large bird called Garuda that has made its nest near the cave. It is an evil bird that tortures and eats humans by capturing them into their nest. It doesn't belong near the sacred cave, so I want you to slay it." The king said.

There was a moment of silence. Mirabelle pictured herself getting eaten alive by a giant bird, and started to shutter. Midahn gulped nervously.

"All right! Now that sounds like an adventure!" Neal said. Hearing this made Rhea become sad. They were going to go on an adventure, like she had always wanted, and she would just be stuck in the castle.

They left for the town later that day and began to prepare for their embark to the mountains tomorrow. When night fell, they returned to their room in the Rothguard Inn. The next morning, they headed toward the town's east entrance. There, surprisingly, they ran into Sir Vyncent and Sir Wymond.

"Woah! What are _you_ two doing here?" Neal said, surprised.

"Why do you _think_ we are here? To accompany you, of course!" Sir Wymond said.

"Really?!" Neal said.

"His Majesty requested us to come with you on your journey to Mount Ulhr." Sir Vyncent said.

"Wow, that's great!" Neal said, excited.

"Along the way, Neal, I'd like to teach you some technique with that hunk of a sword you've got there." Vyncent said. "Your attacks are very powerful, but your technique is sloppy." Although a knight, Vyncent was trained in many styles of sword fighting, including large, two-handed swords.

Neal sighed. "That's what everybody tells me…"

They began their journey early that morning. After about an hour of traveling, they entered a small forest. In the middle of the forest, they found someone they would never expect sitting on a rock.

The knights' jaws dropped. Neal's eyes widened with shock. It was…

"Princess Rhea?!" Vyncent gasped. He knew he was in for it.

"Wha-what are you doing here, Princess Rhea?!" Wymond shouted, sounding just as surprised. She wasn't wearing her dress anymore. She looked more like she did when Neal met her a few nights ago.

"I'm coming with you." She said. The knights almost passed out.

"Wha- you...can't…" Vyncent was at a loss for words.

"We need to go back…" Wymond said.

"No." Rhea said. "I need a break from that place." She had planned this all last night and executed it cleverly. She snuck out of the castle again, unnoticed, by leaving earlier than she would normally wake up. Then, she quickly traveled east for a few miles to get a head start over Neal's group. Now, they caught up to her after travelling a fairly far distance away from the castle so they wouldn't take her all the way back. Internally, she laughed at Vyncent and Wymond, fooling them with her witty plan.

"But, Princess Rhea. It's far too dangerous." Vyncent said.

"I don't feel dangerous with all of you here." Rhea said. She looked determined. Her mind was set.

"But…" Vyncent said.

"I'm going with you!" Rhea claimed. Neal remembered what she told him when they first came to the castle.

"Hey, you said you wanted to go on an adventure, right?" Neal said. She nodded excitedly.

"Well, now's your chance!" He beckoned her to follow. "Then let's go!"

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! Here is another explanation of the 'Guard Breaker' if you didn't really get it. It's an ability of Neal's. Picture him powerfully slashing at an enemy. It's a stronger attack than his normal ones. It's name implies making an enemy that is usually armored or extremely tough become vulnerable in the spot that he struck them in, lowering their guard. Black and white mages have their spells, so I'm giving my spin on abilities for the fighters. I've came up with quite a few interesting ones for Neal and Sevrin. In this chapter, you saw the first one. Also, Rhea secretly joined them on their next quest! What dangers lie ahead? Let me tell you, there will be many...


	10. Frog Hunt!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Nine - Frog Hunt!**

The team was happily heading toward Mount Ulhr. Well, mostly happy. The two knights sulked along as they traveled through the vast landscape.

"I still can't believe you snuck out, your Highness…" Wymond moped. They now had to worry about her safety along with the mission. They also know how much of a handful she can be.

"Oh, get over it!" Rhea said. She smiled as she breathed in fresh, cold air and admired the outside world around her. Vyncent noticed how happy she looked and nudged Wymond to make him understand.

Neal shot his fist into the air. "Alright!" Everyone turned toward him.

"What is it?" Mirabelle asked.

"I can see the mountains up ahead!" He exclaimed excitedly. He pointed far ahead, and they could see the peaks of the mountains barely visible.

"Hmm… We could probably make it by sundown." Vyncent said, nodding. It was just barely past noon, and a thin layer of clouds covered the blue sky. It was chilly enough to where they could see their own breath.

"Its c-c-cold…" Midahn said, shivering.

"Well maybe you should have thought of wearing more than just those robes, silly." Rhea said. She was wearing a thick furry coat and mittens.

"Y-y-yeah. I g-guess so…" He said, chattering his teeth.

"Here ya go, buddy." Neal pulled the string to remove his cloak and tossed it over to Midahn.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" Rhea asked.

"Ha! This is nothing!" Neal snorted. She looked at Sevrin. "We trained a lot in the winter. We're used to it." He said, shrugging.

"Wow, that must have been hard." Rhea said. The tip of her nose was pink. She was still cold even with her thick coat on. Suddenly, a group of goblins appeared.

"Stand back, your Highness!" Vyncent immediately drew his sword, jumping in front of her. She was frightened at the sight of the monsters, and scattered back behind Neal.

"Don't be afraid! These shrimps are dumber than doorknobs!" Neal laughed, drawing his huge sword. The goblins wielded crude, dull, and rusty blades. They are not intelligent, so they wouldn't be expected to dodge or counter at all, making them easy targets.

"Neal!" Vyncent said as Neal was about to charge at them. He stopped. "This would be an opportune moment to practice your technique!"

"Oh yeah! How do I use my blade correctly then, Sir Vyncent?" Neal asked. Vyncent gripped his sword with two hands, like Neal was.

"Now, try to have more control when you swing your sword. I've noticed you often wobble with it or even completely miss a non-moving target." He said. Wymond was in front, holding his large shield in front of them, blocking the goblins' poor attacks with Sevrin.

"It is mostly in your wrists. Turn your hands more inward, so your wrists aren't bent while gripping it." Vyncent said, showing him how he was holding his own sword. Neal copied it, aligning his wrists properly.

"Woah! Now that feels more _secure_!" Neal said. His eyes were wide and he was looking at his grip.

"Now, when you're going to attack, don't yank the blade back like you usually do. Pull it back slower, and use momentum along with strength to strike more efficiently. Are you ready?" He asked. Neal thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He pulled his sword back with more control, then strongly slashed out into the air. "Excellent!" Vyncent said. He turned toward Wymond and Sevrin.

"Prepare to create an opening! Right in the middle!" He shouted to them. Mirabelle, Midahn, and Rhea were watching from a short distance away.

"Now!" Vyncent directed to both Neal and the defenders. Neal pulled his sword back, and started running toward the goblins, completely focused. Wymond and Sevrin then jumped to the side, creating an opening for him. He dashed through, and leapt toward the goblins, slashing horizontally and cut all three perfectly. They fell to the ground and withered away.

"Did you feel more in control, Neal?" Wymond asked. He turned toward them.

"Yes sir! I felt even stronger just by doing that!" Neal said. Vyncent chuckled.

"That would be because you would often almost lose your balance when bringing that heavy sword back, causing your attacks to be more inefficient." He said.

"Yeah, I guess so! Man, I've been doing it wrong this whole time and haven't even _noticed…_" Neal said.

"That was great, Neal!" Rhea said encouragingly. He grinned and waved.

"Alright, let's group back up. I don't want anybody too far away from each other now. There may be more monsters up ahead." Wymond said. Everyone came closer. They began to start moving again.

After a few minutes, a small group of monsters emerged from behind a few trees. The two knights drew their swords, but Sevrin held up his hand.

"Hey," He said to his three friends. "Let's show them what _we_ can do!" The four Warriors leapt forward. The knights nodded, and stood back with Rhea. They were interested in seeing the four Warriors of the Light in action.

Neal and Sevrin took their position in the front row, on the outside, with Midahn and Mirabelle in the back row, but on the inside. They drew their staffs. They looked at Neal, expecting him to wildly charge right away, but he stood his ground, holding his sword defensively in front of him.

"Not this time! Show 'em your magic first, Mirabelle and Midahn!" Neal said. They nodded. Midahn began concentrating quickly, and raised his staff. "Fire!" He shouted as a burst of flame struck the group of monsters.

"Oooh!" Rhea exclaimed in awe.

"Check this out! A little trick I learned from a few white mages!" Mirabelle said. "Haste!" A whirling wind flew in Sevrin's direction.

"Woah…" Sevrin said, looking down at himself. "I feel…lighter!" He dashed forward with his knives, and slashed multiple times at a goblin at blinding speed.

"Yes! That's amazing, Mirabelle!" Neal said. A winged, bat-looking creature with one large eye swooped toward him and struck him weakly.

"That's not all!" Mirabelle said, raising her staff again. "Libra!" Her staff flashed for a moment.

"What happened?" Sevrin asked, confused.

"That monster is known as an Ahriman, a one-eyed bat-like creature. It's weakness is ice!" She said.

"Libra, the analyzing spell. You can learn what weakness something has by casting that spell on it." Vyncent said. Rhea was amazed at seeing their magic. "Wow!"

"Oh! Well, in that case," Midahn raised his staff. "Blizzard!" Ice shards rained down onto the Ahriman, killing it instantly.

"Two left! My turn!" Neal shouted. He spun around and swung his sword, cleanly cutting the remaining two monsters in half before they withered away. The monsters were defeated.

Rhea clapped at their performance. "Yay! You did it!"

"That was very impressive! I see promise in _all_ of you." Wymond said. Vyncent nodded.

"Keep working hard. Your teamwork is good, so focus on becoming stronger." He said. "Then you could be unstoppable."

Neal smiled, looking determined. He liked the idea. Soon enough, they were nearing the beginning of the mountain range.

"Which one is Mount Ulhr? Is it that humongous one?" Midahn said, pointing to a mountain that was much taller than the rest. Vyncent shook his head.

"No. It's the one right next to it." He said. They looked at him, uncertain.

"Uh… Are you sure?" Neal asked. "If you ask me, _that_ one stands out the most…"

"That's why the Crystal Cave is on Mount Ulhr, not that larger one. If it was so obvious, then the cave entrance wouldn't be so hidden. Wouldn't you agree?" He asked them.

"Now that I think about it, it makes sense, I guess." Neal said.

"The cave entrance is extremely well hidden on the mountain as well. It's difficult to just find it." Vyncent added.

"So you don't even know where it is?" Sevrin asked. He shook his head.

"I have never seen it before, but that's not why we are here. We have to slay the large bird that nests on the sacred mountain." He reminded them.

"Right." Mirabelle said. They continued on, trekking through the rough, mountainous terrain. Mount Ulhr was deep inside the Northern Mountain range.

"It's really close now!" Midahn said as they passed through a harsh valley, encountering several monsters along the way.

"Finally..." Mirabelle said. She was exhausted from travelling on so much uneven ground.

"Well, ready to start climbing?" Wymond said, pointing his thumb toward the base of the mountain. Mirabelle and Rhea nearly fainted when he asked.

"We need to get some rest first… I can barely move my _legs_." Rhea muttered. Mirabelle groaned in agreement.

"Ha! What a bunch of sissies!" Neal said. He took a step forward, but Sevrin grabbed his shirt from behind and pulled him back.

"They're right. We should recover before starting to climb it. Look how steep that is…" He said.

"Eh. I guess you're right." Neal said, and immediately passed out on the ground, snoring.

"Well, that settles that." Vyncent said, and they all laughed. They set up two tents and a campfire at the base of the mountain. It had become dark outside, but the clouds faded away, leaving the night sky completely clear and starry.

"You know," Neal said, munching on cooked venison as everyone sat around the fire. "It actually wasn't too bad on the way here. I expected much worse, to tell you the truth…"

"Don't bring back luck onto us, Neal." Sevrin said. "Saying that usually means something bad will happen really soon." Neal laughed.

"You believe superstitions like that?" He asked. He nodded.

"Almost every time that people say that, something bad always happens." He said, shaking his head.

"You sure?" He asked, smiling. He was doubtful.

"_Yes_, I'm sure. So shut it." Sevrin said. Neal laughed. "You sure are in a bad mood, buddy."

"I'm sure we'll be okay." Rhea said, smiling. "We have all of you here." Neal swallowed some more food, and curled his hand into a fist."

"You bet!" Neal said. "Hey guys, let's go look for frogs by that river in the forest back there!" He jumped up, beckoning his friends to follow. Midahn immediately joined him.

"Come on! It's still pretty early." He said persuasively. "Bet I could catch more than you, Sev!"

Sevrin stood up, accepting his challenge. "That's a bet you'd lose." He pointed to his eyes. "There's nothing more keen than these two eyes." Neal laughed.

"Yeah sure man. It takes more than just your _eyes_ to catch 'em." He said mockingly. Sevrin's eyes widened. He had an idea.

"Midahn, you're on my team. Let's go!" He grabbed his arm and dashed into the forest. Neal balled his hands into fists.

"Ah! That cheater! He wants to get a headstart! Mirabelle, let's hurry! I can't lose to that guy!" He said. She got up.

"Fine. It's only fair, I guess. Let's go, dummy!" She said jokingly as she ran off behind the other two. Neal started to follow her but stopped and turned around.

"Come on, Rhea! Join my team!" He beckoned her to join. She really wanted to play with them, but wasn't sure if they were going to ask her. When he did, she immediately became excited.

"Yeah! Let's win!" She jumped up and ran over to him. They caught up to Mirabelle.

"Be careful!" Vyncent called out. After they disappeared, the two knights sighed. It was peaceful and quiet now. Wymond smiled. "They may be warriors, but they're still children. They still want to have fun." They chuckled.

Neal, Rhea, and Mirabelle ran toward the small river flowing between the trees. Bugs chirping, the sound of water flowing, and crunching of leaves from footsteps filled the small forest.

"Alright, let's stand really still so we can hear any frogs croaking!" Neal whispered. They stopped moving, and started listening. In the near distance, they heard running footsteps fading away.

"We're gonna beat those guys! I'm an _expert _at frog-catching!" Mirabelle whispered. Neal smiled. "Me too!" Rhea looked back and forth between the two of them, seeing how passionate and fun they were. It made her heart melt being able to have some real fun. She had never done anything like this before. She loved the feeling of this excitement.

"I hear one!" Neal and Mirabelle whispered at the same time. They turned toward each other.

"I heard it first!" They said at the same time again. "No you didn't!" Again. All three laughed.

"It doesn't even matter! Let's go catch it!" He said, and they started creeping toward it. They peaked around a tree, and saw it on top of a log, croaking away.

"I'll get it." Neal started to slowly approach the frog. He readied his hands to quickly reach out and grab it. When he was only feet away, He lunged for it, but right before he could catch it, it jumped out of the way.

"You idiot! It's gonna get away!" Mirabelle said frantically, and she started running after it.

"Man, that's a _quick_ one!" Neal said. Rhea laughed.

"You almost had it, Neal!" She giggled. He scratched his head.

"Eh, I let it get off easy." He said confidently. She giggled again.

"Yeah right!" She mocked. Mirabelle returned, holding the frog in her hands.

"That's how you do it." She said, smirking. Neal balled his fists.

"Agh… shown up by a girl…" Neal said in defeat. Mirabelle scowled at him. He looked up, grinning.

"Just kidding!" He said. "You haven't got the best of me yet!" He started searching around the area for more frogs.

"Well, we have one. I wonder how many they have?" Mirabelle wondered. "Do you think they found any yet, Princess Rhea?"

She shook her head. "Just call me Rhea!" She said reassuringly. She didn't like any formalities, especially between her friends. Mirabelle's eyes widened a little.

"Oh, ok!" She said.

Further down the river, Sevrin and Midahn were searching just as hard. "So what's your plan, Sevrin?" Midahn asked him. He turned around, smirking deviously under his mask which covered his face below his eyes.

"This is how _we're _going to win. We use your magic!" He said. Midahn tilted his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked, confused. Sevrin began to explain.

"These are fast frogs, so it would be tough to catch them. I could hear Neal having trouble over there. So when we find one, you're going to cast blizzard on it!" He said. Midahn opened his mouth in horror.

"I don't want to hurt the frogs!" He shook his hands in denial. Sevrin shook his head.

"No, you're not going to hurt them. You don't have your staff on you, so it won't even be powerful. And when you do it, just freeze the frog in a small shell of ice!" He explained. Midahn was still uncertain.

"Once you freeze it, I'll hold it, and then you cast a small fire spell to melt the ice. It wouldn't burn or hurt the frog at all. Are you able to do that?" He asked. Midahn visualized it for a moment.

"Yeah! I can do that! Wow, that's a good strategy Sevrin!" He said excitedly. Sevrin patted him on the head.

"I knew I could count on you, buddy!" They started wildly searching for frogs in the dark.

"Hey, hey! I found one!" Midahn whispered. Sevrin immediately turned around and looked to where Midahn was pointing. A frog was there, right beside the river.

"Alright, are you ready?" He asked, concentrating on the frog. Midahn nodded. They started to tiptoe up to it, and Midahn silently began focusing his hands toward it. He was used to casting spells as powerful as possible, so he wasn't used to purposely casting it so weakly.

"Focus. You can do it." Sevrin whispered. After a moment of complete silence, Midahn whispered, "Blizzard." A small, icy aura encased the frog. Sevrin dashed over and picked up the frozen frog. He laughed.

"Look," He said, barely containing his laughter. He was pointing at it's mouth. "It's mouth is open!" They laughed at how funny it looked. "Okay, okay. Time to unfreeze it."

Midahn produced a small flamed under the ball of ice. After a few seconds, water began dripping off it. He released the frog from the ice, and Sevrin held a good grip on it.

"It worked! Your strategy is the best!" Midahn said, surprised. Sevrin grinned.

"Let's go find another!" He said, and they hurried off to another spot.

"I think I hear another one." Rhea whispered. Neal and Mirabelle turned toward her.

"Really? Where?" Neal asked. She pointed in the direction she was looking. Neal and Mirabelle faced their ear in that direction. They faintly heard the frog.

"Yes! Nice job, Rhea!" Neal said, taking off toward the frog. She excitedly followed him. When they were really close to it, Neal turned around. "Huddle up!" He whispered. They leaned in, and Neal put his arms around them.

"Alright, here's the plan. We're all going to surround it, so it has nowhere to go when we reach for it." He whispered. Mirabelle shook her head.

"I need my two hands to hold _this_ one still…" She looked down at the frog they already caught.

"Ah, that's right… In that case, let's both surround it then, Rhea." He said to her.

"I-I don't think I'm good at catching frogs. I'll probably miss every time…" She said.

"Here, hold this one, then!" Mirabelle offered her the first frog. "Then we can go with the plan, Neal." Rhea grabbed it, freeing Mirabelle's hands again.

"Okay, let's go!" He said. He crept around to the other side of the frog. Mirabelle put up three fingers, and started to count down. After one, they both dove for it. It jumped to the side, and they collided into each other. Rhea gasped.

"Ouch! That was such a _stupid_ plan!" Mirabelle said, rubbing her head. Neal laughed.

"Then why'd 'ya go along with it, dummy?" He said mockingly. She smacked him on the head.

"I thought one of us would get it!" She said. They both laughed. "That was a pretty bad plan." He said. "I'll get this one though! Watch." He crept toward the frog again, and calmly grabbed it before it could escape. He almost dropped it, but he had a good grip.

"That's two!" Rhea said.

Midahn and Sevrin caught a second frog. After minutes of not finding any after that, they were thinking of heading back.

"I haven't seen any more." Midahn said. Sevrin wasn't satisfied.

"I think we have this in the bag if we find _one_ more. Don't give up yet!" He said. "Hold on, I'm going to focus and listen really hard. Don't move for a sec."

Midahn stood still, watching Sevrin. He clapped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began concentrating. After a minute, he opened his eyes.

"Did you hear anything?" Midahn asked. Sevrin grunted.

"Heh. I heard Neal's big _mouth_, that's certain." Midahn laughed. "But I think I heard another one over there." Sevrin pointed to another spot alongside the river. They crept up to it, and saw another frog.

"You're going to have to do this all by yourself, Midahn." He said after Midahn quickly handed him the two frogs that were struggling to escape. "My hands are full."

"I can do this." Midahn said. He repeated their capture method, increasing their total to three frogs.

"Alright, let's head back." Sevrin said. They returned to Sir Vyncent and Sir Wymond and the camp. After a few minutes, Neal, Mirabelle, and Rhea appeared from the forest.

"Hmm… Let's see who won." Vyncent said. They looked at each group's number of frogs.

"It looks like you each have three. Do we have a tie?" Wymond said.

"Ha. It took all _three _of you to get that many. I think we win!" Sevrin exclaimed victoriously. Midahn jumped up and down happily. But Neal, Mirabelle, and Rhea were all smiling.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Neal said. They all turned toward them. A fourth frog jumped onto Neal's head from behind.

"What?! Are you serious?" Sevrin said. Neal laughed. Midahn leaned downwards in defeat.

"We win!" Rhea said. Vyncent smiled, noticing how happy she looked. He knew that this was one of the first times that she had fun like this.

They released all of the frogs they had captured, and watched them hop away in different directions. Worn out from their fun, they went to sleep almost instantly. Vyncent and Wymond took turns keeping watch throughout the quiet night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! Here was a little break from the adventure, where frog hunting took place. Everyone deserves a little fun every once in a while, right? This was just what they needed before beginning their treacherous climb. Next time: The group encounters the griffin?!


	11. Black Knight!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Ten - Black Knight!**

"Wake up!" Neal heard. He yawned and stretched out. His sleepy vision started to become clearer when he opened his eyes. Mirabelle was crouched in front of him. No one else was inside the tent.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead. Everyone else is already up." Mirabelle said. Neal jolted up.

"Ugh…really?" He rubbed his eyes. "I don't usually sleep in like this…" He shook himself awake.

"Alright! Let's get going!" He shouted, now suddenly bursting with energy.

"That was fast…" Mirabelle remarked. "You have this much energy already without even eating anything." When she said that, his stomach grumbled.

"Oh! I'm pretty hungry, now that you mention it." Neal said, heading over to the rest of the group.

"Mornin'." Neal said, sitting down by the smoldering remains of their fire. He looked around, but there was nothing cooking. He sighed internally, hoping there would be meat like yesterday.

"Good morning, Neal!" Rhea said. He waved over to her.

"Sleepy Neal is up!" Midahn said, laughing. Neal scowled at him jokingly.

"Well how long did I sleep, anyways? What time is it?" He asked.

"It's a quarter past seven." Wymond stated. Neal shrugged.

"That's not so bad. You guys probably just got up recently, didn't you?" He said sheepishly. He then sneered toward Sevrin. "_didn't you?_"

"Doesn't matter. Let's just get ready to go." Sevrin said.

"I gathered some fruits and berries from the forest." Rhea said. She handed a basket, which still had quite a few remaining fruit inside, to Neal. "Have some, Neal!" She smiled. He took it.

"Oh wow, thanks! These look pretty good! They aren't _poisonous_, are they?" He asked, looking at her with distrust. Lately, his friends have been subtly pranking him from time to time, always leaving him on his guard. Rhea covered her mouth.

"I would never do such a thing!" She said, sounding a little hurt that he would think that.

"Ooooookay. Here goes!" He said, dropping a berry into his mouth. He began to chew it, when he stopped. He then grabbed his throat and began to look like he was gagging. Everyone turned around. Rhea gasped, completely freaking out.

He let go of his throat and swallowed it. "Ha! Just kidding." He laughed. Mirabelle scowled, and stomped over to him, smacking him on the head.

"You just about gave me a heart attack you idiot!" She exclaimed. He continued to eat the fruit, one by one, mocking her while she was talking.

"Chill out," He said in between bites. "It's just a joke. Almost like that time when you said, 'Look over there!', and pushed me off a cliff. Remember _that_?" He said, raising his eyebrows.

She scoffed. "Fine. I get it. But it took you long enough to actually pull one on _me_, so remember _that_!" She said, smiling.

"Hey, let's just get going." Sevrin said. He was ready to start climbing the mountain. Everyone packed up their gear. They walked over to the base of the mountain.

"Is everyone ready?" Vyncent said. Everyone nodded. "Okay. But here's a forewarning. Be careful when climbing. I cannot stress that enough. It is very steep, and there are certain parts of the trail that are extremely narrow. Everyone must stick closely together." He and Wymond turned around, looking at each child. "Do you all understand?"

"Yes sir!" Neal said. They turned to Rhea. "Lady Rhea, please stick close to us two. We do not want to see you fall. His majesty will have our _necks_." Vyncent said urgently.

They began their way onto the mountain. For the first hour, the path was wide, but steep. They didn't face any trouble yet. Occasionally, small bird-like monsters would attack, but the group fended them off easily. After that first hour, though, they reached an area where there was hardly any ground to tread upon. The path kept becoming more and more narrow. Neal took a cautious step while holding onto the mountain side, sending small rocks tumbling down the side. He shivered and backed up.

"Woah… that was _too _close…" He said shakily. Rhea looked at him sadly.

"Do you have a fear of heights, Neal?" She asked. He shook his head.

"I wouldn't say that… I just don't want to fall off." He said. Midahn covered his ears.

"Ah! Don't even say that!" He said. Neal scratched his head.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry…" He said apologetically. He didn't want to scare the poor kid to death

"We're going to have to move very slowly from here. Lean your entire body against the wall, and sidestep. The trail isn't thin enough to where we cannot do that. Just grab hands and we'll move as a group." Wymond said.

He took the lead, with Vyncent behind him. Vyncent held Rhea's hand securely. She reached for Neal's hand, pulling him close. He grabbed Mirabelle's hand, pulling her close to him. She grabbed Midahn's, and Sevrin took the rear.

"Everybody ready? Just be careful, and put pressure onto the wall. Keep your entire back on it, and don't let go." He said. He started to move slowly along the thin path, stopping after each step. He would wait until everyone took that step before taking his next one, so nobody would separate.

"J-j-just keep moving." Rhea chanted shakily to herself. Neal could tell by her vice grip on his entire arm that she was completely frightened and nervous.

"Hey, don't worry, Rhea. We're already halfway there!" He said encouragingly. On his right arm, he felt a sudden tug. He turned his head. Mirabelle had taken an awkward step. He pulled her back to the wall of the mountain. "Be careful, Mirabelle. It felt like you almost slipped or something."

She gulped. She was sweating. "Just have to keep calm… Just have to keep calm…" She repeated nervously. Neal tightened his hold on her arm a little bit. She looked up at him.

"I won't let you fall." He said, completely determined. They finally reached the end of the narrow part of the path. They turned around the corner of the mountain, and saw a much wider, safer path. After walking a few yards onto it, leaving the narrow part behind, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"That…was...close…" Sevrin said. He looked completely calm, though. Neal turned toward him.

"Not for _you_! You're a freakin' ninja. You have top notch balance…" He said sarcastically.

"We were pretty much one, being connected as a group." He pointed out. They reached an area where they could sit comfortably, so they decided to take a small rest.

"Man, my legs are pretty tired." Mirabelle said, massaging her calves. "And we haven't even been _climbing_ that long." Midahn groaned in agreement.

"It's quite a steep path, so you've been putting a lot more into it than you think." Wymond pointed out.

"We're pretty high up…" Neal said, looking over the edge on all four's. He could see hundreds of treetops in the distance. Rhea held onto his ankles.

"Neal, don't get too close over the edge!" She said nervously. "You'll fall!" Midahn covered his ears again, and shut his eyes tightly.

He laughed. "I've experienced a lot outdoors, Rhea! I won't fall over." He grinned and thumbed up.

"Alright, let's get going." Vyncent said. He stood up.

"Say, isn't it tough to climb up this thing with all of that armor?" Neal asked.

"I've experienced a lot in this armor." He said simply.

"Ahhh, I see what you did there!" Neal said, beginning to follow. They continued making their way up the mountain.

After a few more minutes, they heard something odd up ahead. Vyncent immediately stopped everyone in their tracks, signaling to be completely quiet. They could hear muffled voices.

_No one should be up here besides us, as far as I know… Hardly anyone even knows about this mountain…_ Vyncent thought. He stepped cautiously up to the rock that kept them hidden.

"It's just up ahead. Why don't we just head in there already?" One voice said.

"That would be foolish." Another replied. Vyncent's eyes widened upon hearing that voice. It sounded familiar. "The information about the Crystal Cave we were given was a lie, couldn't you tell?"

There was a pause. "What do you mean?" The first voice asked, confused.

"Tal gave us false information." He simply replied. "I could tell just by his voice when he was informing us."

"Well, you'd think one would be quite frightened when a blade is pointed at their throat." The first voice said, laughing. Neal scowled.

"I already know the location anyways." The second voice said.

"Then _why_ did we even bother with guy then?" The first voice questioned.

"I just didn't know which mountain." He replied. They could hear the beginning of movement. "Let's start moving. It's a lot further up the mountain." When they couldn't hear the two strangers anymore, Vyncent sighed.

"Wymond, did you recognize that voice?" He asked. His face looked completely serious. Wymond gravely nodded.

"W-who was it?" Rhea asked. She could tell that they weren't messing around.

"There's no doubt. It was Wilham." Vyncent said. She gasped.

"Who's that?" Neal asked.

"He was once one of us, a royal knight of Rothguard. But for an unknown reason, he randomly left the kingdom, never to return."

"Hmm… That sounds a lot like this one guy from Sevrin and I's village. Ahh, what was his name? Sar...Sack...Sam...Samael! That was it." Neal remembered. "He randomly disappeared one day too!"

"More importantly, they mentioned the Crystal Cave. What do they plan to do there?" Sevrin asked.

"That's right. It doesn't sound like they're up to any good. They said they held a blade against a man's throat for information…" Vyncent said.

"Wilham… Why did he become evil…" Wymond shook his head.

"Did you recognize the other guy? He sounded really weird." Neal said. They shook their heads.

"Let's quietly follow, and see what they do. It's not like they can get in anyways. The Crystal Cave is sealed with an ancient magic that can't be broken. There's no way _anyone_ can get inside." Wymond said.

Neal turned towards his friends. "Then how are _we_ going to get in?" He asked them. They sighed.

"Don't you remember?" Mirabelle said. "We can't enter unless we're _worthy _enough to." Neal remembered.

"Oh yeah. Well fine then, almighty cave." He said sarcastically.

"Either way, we need to see what they are up to." Vyncent said. They began to follow the two mysterious men up the mountain.

Eventually, the two men stopped. Neal's group stayed hidden from their sight. While the two men's backs were turned, they could get a better look at them. One of the men was wearing black armor. He was tall, and a sword that was dark as night was sheathed on his back. The other man was shorter. He wore a blue coat lined with white fur. He had the hood on, which had a large white ball at the end of it. They were talking. The man in the black armor pointed at a crevice in the wall. The other peered inside. He shrugged. The knight pointed his sword at the crevice. He was beginning to chant something. A dark aura began to appear around his sword.

Neal looked at Vyncent, who was staring intently at the black knight. He looked angry. Neal started thinking quickly. He suddenly jumped out of their hiding spot. The two mysterious men turned toward him.

"Stop!" He said. His sword was drawn. It's sheer size towered over the black knight's sword.

"Who's this?" The knight said precariously. The man in the blue coat looked at deviously.

"A kid? Get lost!" The smaller man started to shoo him away with his hands. Neal scoffed.

"I don't know what you clowns are doing, but _you're_ the ones who need to get lost!" He retorted.

"Whatcha going to do, kid? Fight us?" He laughed. "You won't stand a chance!"

Vyncent was sweating. _Why'd he jump out like that?! What a fool! If he gets caught in a bind, I'll help him, but still… This child takes stealth to a completely new level. Lower…_

Rhea was trembling in fear for Neal. She wanted to be by his side, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything. Mirabelle was doing the same.

_You idiot… Quit trying to seek out stupid challenges like this. These guys could be dangerous!_ Mirabelle thought. Sevrin and Midahn were watching closely.

"We can't let something like this get in the way. I'll end him quickly." The black knight said, walking towards Neal with his sword pointed straight for his head.

Neal gritted his teeth, and slashed at the knight. He was caught completely off guard by the power in Neal's strike, which knocked his sword back when he blocked it. Neal then charged at him, swinging his sword crazily. The knight parried his attacks easily. On the last attack, he parried Neal's strike, knocking him to the ground. Just then, Vyncent jumped out from behind the rock. The black knight's eyes widened.

"Vyncent?" He asked, surprised.

"You remember me, huh." He replied cooly. "What happened to you?"

He laughed. "What happened to _me_? I left that worthless place a long time ago. That's all."

Vyncent gripped his sword tighter.

"How dare you say that about our kingdom?! You, of all people, have no right!" He stepped forward. "What are you planning?" He demanded.

"The absolute destruction to the likes of you!" He said, and began clashing blades with Vyncent. Neal jumped back up. The strange man in the blue coat was watching him.

"What the hell do you want?" Neal said. He laughed. "If you make one move, I'll kill ya!"

He cackled.

_What the… What a weirdo._ He thought. Rhea was on the brim of tears hearing Neal being threatened.

"What the hell are we still doing hiding back here?" Sevrin whispered. He wanted to join the fight.

"We can't put Rhea in any more danger!" Mirabelle whispered back. He scoffed, and tightened his fist.

"Go! Support your friend! I will defend Lady Rhea with my life!" Wymond whispered to them, holding his large shield in front of him. He knelt in front of Rhea.

"Who are you?" Neal asked. He cackled again.

"Why, I'm Khafka!" He raised his arms up. Neal shrugged.

"Like I know who you are, pal." Neal said sarcastically. Khafka grunted.

_This kid is pretty fearless… He doesn't look frightened at all._ _Maybe this will get 'im._ He thought.

Suddenly the rocky mountainside began to tremble. Mirabelle, Sevrin, and Midahn, who had just stood up to help Neal, began to wobble, struggling to keep their balance.

"What's going on?" Midahn yelled over the quakes. Vyncent and Wilham stopped clashing. Vyncent started to look around and above him to see what was causing the tremors.

Neal was stepping back and forth to keep from falling down, but the seriousness on his face remained. He was focused on Khafka.

"Do you like that?! That is my earthquake!" He said mischievously.

"You controlled that?" Neal asked. He nodded, smiling.

"I am a geomancer. I can control the power of nature!" He laughed. Neal tilted his head.

"What's that mean?" He asked. The geomancer couldn't believe what he heard.

"You're a fool, you! Have you never experienced the power of nature before? Well then let me show you what true power is!" He shouted. The tremors began to shake the mountain again, but this time it was much more powerful. It felt like the mountain was moving all on its own. However, it wasn't powerful enough to destroy the mountain, so everything remained in its place.

"That all you can do?" Neal mocked. He advanced toward Khafka with his sword. Khafka was confused.

_Why was I not able to cause any destruction?! _He thought frantically. Seeing Neal's blade and Sevrin's knives frightened him. They were closing in. Wilham quickly looked at him while he was being attacked.

_Damn… Despite how much of a pain he is, I need Khafka to break through the seal of the cave!_ He thought as he turned to stop Neal and Sevrin.

"Don't think you're through with me yet!" Vyncent said, and Wilham turned back around barely in time to block a lethal slash from Vyncent.

"Tsk. I don't have time for you!" He said, and knocked him back with the hilt of his sword. He raised his hands, and the dark aura that had formed around his sword earlier suddenly engulfed his body. "Darkness!" He shouted.

Neal and Sevrin stopped. They turned toward Wilham, who appeared to have dark flames around his body.

"What the…" Sevrin said. He had never seen anything like it before. Khafka cackled.

"Now you are all going to die! Experience _true_ terror!" He shouted. The man began to slowly step towards Neal and Sevrin. They were both sweating.

"Don't let this guy fool ya." Neal said. He never lost any focus. "This could just be some kind of trick."

The man laughed evilly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." He said, sounding completely different than before.

"Wilham's strength is on a whole new level now, brats! He's using the true power of darkness!" Khafka said.

They engaged in battle. The four Warriors, along with the help of Vyncent, against the now darkness driven Wilham and Khafka. Despite his monstrous appearance, Wilham and Khafka are at a disadvantage. Not only are they shorter in numbers, but Khafka is basically helpless. For some odd reason, he can't cause the ground to break up and crush his foes on the mountain.

Wilham's attacks were definitely strong. Mirabelle needed to use her cure spell after almost every attack he lands on her friends. Protecting her became a high priority, since she was the one keeping them going.

After Wilham dealt a few damaging blows, they noticed he was starting to almost stagger a bit, as if he was weakened. He was large and strong, so he would be able to fight for while without tiring. They haven't done any serious damage to him yet.

_Damn… the only weakness of darkness. I can't keep attacking them like this, or else I'll be finished. But on the other hand, I need it to be able to take out all of them. This idiot next to me can't even use geomancer magic correctly, or they would be dead underneath the mountain… _Wilham thought.

Khafka was sweating now. He still didn't understand why his magic wasn't working against them. Their defeat seemed certain.

_If he can't use his stupid earthquake thing to actually hurt us, then he's nothing to worry about. But this guy… he's tough. But he seems to be getting tired or something. He's looking pretty low. Wait! Now's my chance!_ Neal thought. As soon as Vyncent attacked Wilham, Neal began to dash toward him.

"Guard breaker!" He shouted, slashing fiercely across Wilham's chestplate. There was a sound of metal being shredded, and a huge gash in Wilham's black armor opened up. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.

_This kid…_ _Just who is he?_ Wilham thought in disbelief. Vyncent stepped towards him.

"Wha-what the hell are you?" Khafka screamed, horrified at Neal's attack. Neal grinned.

_And the mage… They're just basic spells, but they feel stronger than that. Or, maybe it's just what I'm picking up from him. Who the hell are these brats? _He thought in anger.

"What should we do now, Sir Vyncent?" Sevrin asked. He thought for a moment.

"We'll question them later. So we need to knock them out." He said. Wilham scoffed.

"Hmph. You think you've _won?_ I'll dest-" Wilham retorted, but Sevrin struck him in a pressure plate on the back of his neck with the butt of his knife. He was out cold.

"Don't you dare even lay a finger on me, you!" Khafka said as Neal approached him with a devious smile.

"You want to know why you couldn't do anything?" Neal asked him.

"What do you mean?" Khafka retorted.

"Look what mountain you're on, brainless! This is _sacred_. You think your little earthquake can affect it? I don't think so…" Neal said, then laughed. He knocked him out faster than he could even begin to protest.

"Good. Now that _that's_ over with, we can continue on. But I've some questions to ask him later…" Vyncent said, looking at Wilham.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! What? A twist?! Someone good joined the dark side mysteriously? Not like that's happened already, or something... Did you notice that Wilham was very similar to Cecil as a dark knight? Also, I had to add the troll, stupid laugh kind of villain, so I decided to make him a geomancer. I don't know why, but the outfit for it looks so dumb to me, so I thought he would look funny with his blue santa hat and santa robe. I don't know. By the way, if the names of characters sound like or are the names of actual FF characters, they're not actually those characters in any way. Next time: they take on the giant bird!? Someone is taken?!


	12. Edge of Destiny!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

_Part II: Occult of Evil_

**Chapter Eleven: Edge of Destiny!**

It was nightfall. Blood had been shed. Lives had been lost. One man survived. He stood, atop a bloody hill, unscathed. He almost blended in with the darkness. He was ruthless, and killed coldly, thinking nothing of it. Anything he would do to get what he wants.

He entered the temple that so many had fought to protect. A crystal was floating in the center of the room. He walked over to it, examining its beauty. Its blueness rippled like water. He grabbed it and started to leave the temple. Another man, who had crawled inside the temple, leaving a trail of blood, raised his hand shakily.

"S-Samael. You bastard…" He gritted. Samael looked at him for a moment, showing nothing but coldness.

"Hmph. So I didn't finish you off. I see…" He said, and began to walk past him.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" He croaked. But he was in too much pain to do anything. Samael stopped. He turned around and laughed.

"You're pathetic! _You_ don't know what true power lies in these crystals!" He replied, holding the Water Crystal in front of him.

"You're a fool if you think you can get away with this!" The dying man said. He was breathing his final breaths. Samael stepped toward him as his vision began to blur.

"Let this be known to you, in your final moment. The world you are escaping from will become cloaked in darkness. Consider yourself lucky to be able to die here and now." He heard Samael faintly say. He kept slipping away. He started to see a bright light. But just before he was about to pass on, Samael stabbed him down, ripping away the light.

Samael turned away, as if nothing happened. He thought about what Doran said about him thinking he can get away with this, and laughed. He faded away into the night.

News of this tragedy spread to the nearby towns, striking fear into villagers' hearts. Samael's name started to become known. But they didn't know what he was planning.

Priests went to the wreckage of the Water Temple a few days later, and discovered that the Crystal had disappeared.

"No! How could this happen? The guardians of the Water Temple have failed?" One of the priests said, distressed.

"Who could have done this?" Another said.

"It must have been that Samael, like the rumors say." They sighed.

"Things are going to get much more complicated, if he is planning what I think he is." They nodded in agreement. One of them turned around and faced the rest of the priests.

"We need to find _them_."

Meanwhile, on Mount Ulhr:

"What were you trying to do?" Vyncent said to a tied-up Wilham. He snorted.

"Like it would concern you lowlifes." He said cruelly.

"How could you possibly think you would have a chance to bust your way into the sacred Temple of Light?" He asked. "It's impossible."

"That's what you think…" He said, smiling evilly. Vyncent nodded, scratching his beard.

"You were doing something odd at the entrance with your sword, I remember that. Some sort of dark scripture, I presume?" Vyncent asked, raising his eyebrow. Wilham stiffened.

"That's beyond your realm of thinking." He said coldly.

"Apparently beyond yours too." Vyncent remarked. Wilham began to struggle inside the ropes that held him down.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" He shouted. Vyncent just watched as he raged.

"How could someone like you get inside, then? You have no sense of light or purity at all…" Vyncent noted.

"You have no idea what kind of power darkness can bring." He said.

"Then how come we beat you up, dummy?!" Neal laughed. He gritted his teeth.

"You little-!" He was about to scream, but remained calm. "The power of darkness has its weaknesses as well as its strengths. You are lucky you were able to hold on so long…" He said.

"Every attack you made using that power was stronger, but affected you each time." Sevrin said. He was standing there, with his arms crossed, studying the black knight.

"Hmph. Well, enough of these games... " He said. They all looked at him.

"What can you do? You're finished." Vyncent said. He began to laugh hysterically.

"You think you've seen the best of _me_?! I will never die to the hands of you!" He shouted, as he suddenly disappeared in a cloud of darkness. When it parted, the ropes dropped to the ground, and he was gone.

"What the…?" Neal said, and started to look around. Wilham was nowhere in sight.

"Was he toying with us the whole time?" Wymond asked.

"I don't see this so called 'darkness' a threat. It makes him arrogant, thinking he can handle everything on his own. It'll lead to his downfall." Vyncent said.

"H-Hey wait! What about me?!" Khafka said, who was also tied up, when he noticed Wilham disappearing.

"This is what it's like being on that side, buddy. Not even your friends are your friends." Neal said, pointing his sword at him.

Khafka started shaking nervously at all the pairs of eyes on him. _He_ was their target now. "W-what do you want from me? What do you want?!" He screamed.

"Calm down." Neal said, resting his blade on his shoulder.

"I don't know anything! He told me that we would achieve great power if I came with him! That's all!" He said, struggling to escape.

"Wow, you're lame to fall for that." Neal remarked. "You think _that_ guy would fulfill a promise? I know that type of person. All they care about is themself."

"What should we do about this guy?" Sevrin asked the two knights. They thought for a moment, and shrugged, turning around and continuing to go up the mountain.

"Hey! Are you just gonna ignore me?! Hey!" Khafka screamed as everyone left him. Sevrin turned around, and cut the ropes with his knife.

"If you try to pursue us, I'll _kill_ you." Sevrin said coldly. Khafka gritted his teeth.

_Those eyes… _Khafka thought. Despite most of his face hidden from his mask, his expression was clear as day. He looked menacing...

_This kid… He's a little brat, but I sense something inside him. It's cold, but extremely powerful. It's completely overwhelming_. He was sweating just from Sevrin's presence. His anger caused his power to well up for a moment. He could only watch as they finally disappeared from his sight.

"A geomancer, huh…" Vyncent said.

"What did he mean when he said he could control nature, Sir Vyncent?" Midahn asked. He was curious about this type of magic that he had never seen before.

"Although rare, they're a type of mage with a special kind of magic. Their magic depends upon the area that they are in. Like we saw, that silly geomancer used his magic to create tremors in the earth, since we are on a mountain. They harness the power of nature around them to attack." Vyncent said.

"That's... odd." Midahn said.

"Yes, indeed. It's different from the black and white magic that we've always seen." He replied.

"Shouldn't that bird thing be close now?" Mirabelle asked. "We're pretty high up, and we passed the cave entrance already."

"You're right." Wymond said. "We should be on our guard. Lady Rhea, you should be a little closer to-" He turned around. "Lady Rhea!" Vyncent turned around.

"Wha-where did she go?!" Wymond shouted as he searched around frantically?

"She was just behind us moments ago!" Vyncent said. "How did you four not see her disappear?! She was in front of you!"

"I dunno." Neal said, shrugging his shoulders. "She must have just vanished instantly or something just now. I _just_ saw her."

"Wait." Vyncent stopped. Everyone stopped in their tracks. His eyes were wide.

"W-what is it?" Mirabelle asked. She started to shiver from seeing the knight suddenly looking frightened.

"That gust of wind that occurred wasn't an ordinary breeze." He said.

"You don't mean-" Wymond started to say. Vyncent nodded. He and Wymond slowly drew their swords. Seeing them being so cautious, Neal and Sevrin did the same.

"Is it the bird?" Sevrin whispered. They started to move forward.

"Listen up. If that monster grabbed Lady Rhea, we must kill it immediately. We shouldn't have allowed her to come along in the first place…" Wymond said. Vyncent gravely nodded.

"His Majesty will have our necks." He said in agreement.

"Let's go!" Neal shouted, completely breaking their stealth. He charged up ahead. Mirabelle, Midahn, and Sevrin sighed, smacking their foreheads.

"That idiot…" Sevrin said.

"Well, you said we need to kill it immediately, so let's do it! Don't waste any more time, unless you don't want to see Rhea again!" Neal shouted back at them.

"He cut's right to the chase. But he's right! Hurry!" Vyncent said. They began to quickly follow Neal. When they caught up to him, they found a giant nest so tall that they couldn't see the inside. Neal had already begun climbing.

"What would," Neal grunted as he grabbed each branch. "Happen, if, we, can't, stop it?" He asked while he climbed up the crude nest. The weight of his sword made it much more difficult, but he's very strong for his age.

"She could," Vyncent shut his eyes at the thought. "Become… food." He still couldn't believe she was taken right in plain sight. He cursed at himself internally for not being a better protector.

"What?! There's no way I'll let that happen!" Neal shouted, and climbed even faster. He reached the top, and climbed over into the nest. He disappeared from the others' sights.

_Ooooh, that Neal! He has some nerve! _Mirabelle thought angrily. _Just to charge in all by himself like that. He could get himself killed!_

When the rest climbed into the nest, they saw Neal, guarding himself with his sword in front of him. He was looking up. In front of him, was a giant griffin. It was perched on the other side of the nest, just watching them.

Mirabelle looked around, and noticed several corpses, and even some bones that looked human.

_This… thing… eats people only?!_ She thought. She began to quiver.

"Don't worry, Mirabelle. We're gonna take it down for the count." He said, not losing his focus on the giant bird. She suddenly noticed Rhea lying there, near other people who all looked unconscious.

"It looks like this thing is good at snatching up people quickly, without anyone even noticing." Neal remarked. "It also seems like we made it just in time. It was just about to have its meal."

"We will slay you for taking innocent people, including our princess!" Vyncent pointed his sword at the giant bird.

"That's definitely Garuda, as the rumors say." Wymond noted, gripping his shield tighter.

"So that's its name, huh. It's known for eating people?" Sevrin said. He nodded.

The griffin screeched at them, and took flight. It started to circle around the nest, with its eyes on Neal and the others. Its only thoughts were more food were entering her nest. Each time it flapped its wings, huge bursts of wind gushed around them. The entire nest rustled.

Suddenly, it started to dive toward them. "Get ready!" Vyncent shouted. They braced themselves, and engaged into battle with the giant bird.

Garuda flapped its wings forward, sending a tornado onto them. Branches detached and flung toward them, knocking them all back against the side of the nest. The powerful wind caused the branches to cut them all over their bodies.

"Agh!" Neal grunted in pain, taking in the most of it. He rushed in front of everyone to protect them. He was bleeding everywhere, and fell to his knees.

Rhea slowly opened her eyes. Everything was so blurry, but she could hear lots of commotion everywhere around her. The last thing she could remember was suddenly being swept away at such a high speed that she fell unconscious. She raised her head up, and saw Neal. He was caked in blood. She could hardly see his face. Her heart started racing, and she became frightened, and in dismay from all of his blood.

"Hold on! Don't worry! Cure!" Mirabelle shouted, and light fell upon each one of them, including herself. Neal's wounds instantly began to lessen, leaving only minor scratches.

"Neal! You shouldn't have taken the brute end of that! We have full body armor. Let us take the front!" Wymond said.

"Okay, Sir Wymond, and Sir Vyncent!" He agreed, and jumped back alongside his friends. Sevrin smacked him with the back of his hand.

"Ouch! What was that for, Sev?" Neal asked.

"Don't be so reckless, man!" He said. He sounded almost troubled, or pained. Seeing his best friend all bloody just moments ago probably shook him up.

"Sorry, guys." Neal replied. He shook his head at his own carelessness.

Vyncent dashed forward and swung at the griffin. He aimed for its front legs, which are the weaker ones. It only became angrier.

"Prepare for another attack!" Vyncent said. Wymond raised his shield, and everyone ran behind him in a line. Mirabelle ran up behind Neal and placed her arms around his waist. He turned, and placed his arm around her protectively.

"Don't go anywhere. I'm not done fixing you up." She said, sniffling. He looked at her, and smiled.

"Wh-what are you smiling at?" She said, becoming flustered and embarrassed.

"It's just a great feeling. Having someone care about you." He said, still smiling. "We've been together for a little while now, but I care a lot about you guys." He understood what the Visionaries meant by the bond that would be created. Even though everyone is so different, and that they've only met not too long ago, he knew that his friends would always have his back, and would be there for him.

Sevrin understood what he was thinking, and put his hand on Neal's shoulder. Midahn rushed up and hugged Mirabelle from behind. Vyncent and Wymond stood firm, ready to defend the four children from the second savage wind attack. The four Warriors braced themselves behind the two royal knights as the wind came. They all closed their eyes tightly, and the wind rushed through their hair. The nest was very shaky again, but they held their position.

Rhea could only watch as she saw her friends and guards go through such pain, all just to save her. She was sad that she was so helpless, and could never do anything to protect herself, causing everyone to go through so much.

Finally, it was over. The wind subsided. The giant griffin looked to see if its prey was finally defeated. Everyone stood back up, checking to see if they were all okay.

"Sir Vyncent! Sir Wymond!" They said.

"Don't worry, children. We are fine. Are you all okay?" Vyncent replied.

"Yeah, but how long can we keep this up?" Neal asked.

"It seems physical attacks won't do much!" Wymond said. Garuda flew in and clawed at him, but he blocked it with his large shield. The force of it knocked him back a bit.

"Then magic will do it?" Midahn asked, brightening up. "Let me give it a shot!"

"But what element is it weak to?" Vyncent wondered. "Since it takes to the skies, possibly thunder…"

"Agh… Midahn doesn't know that yet though." Mirabelle said. Midahn giggled. "Huh? What is it, Midahn?"

"I know thunder!" He exclaimed. Neal, Sevrin, and Mirabelle tilted their heads.

"Since when, buddy?" Neal asked doubtfully. He grinned.

"Since we first came to Rothguard. On the first night, when we arrived, you ran off. Remember, Neal?" He said excitedly. "You went on your date with Rhea!"

"You did _what_?" Vyncent asked. Neal began to sweat.

"Eh... nothing…" He raised his hands in protest.

"Well while you were doing that, _I _went to the magic shop! I got the spellbook for thunder! I learned it!" Midahn continued.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Wymond said as he blocked another attack from the griffin. "But we've got an angry bird here that won't stop lunging at us." He grunted as he blocked each time. It kept trying to attack the others, since it couldn't get through Wymond, but he kept jumping side to side, defending everyone.

"Time to test it out, then!" Midahn said.

"You… haven't even casted it yet?" Sevrin asked. He shook his head. He prepared for something to go wrong, but remembered that Midahn is a natural at black magic. He had casted blizzard without even learning it properly.

Midahn raised his staff, and casted thunder upon the giant bird. A small jolt of lightning landed directly onto it, causing its wings to stutter, and sending it crashing down into the nest.

"Now's our chance." Neal said, gripping his sword tightly as he dashed toward the fallen griffin.

"Guard Breaker!" He shouted, striking it with all of his might. He cut it deep, all the way across its neck. They had defeated Garuda. It began to dissolve into thin air. When it disappeared completely, they could see all of its victims up ahead.

"Lady Rhea!" Vyncent shouted.

"Rhea!" Neal said. They rushed over to her.

"E-everyone." She said.

"Just take it easy for a moment, Mirabelle will help." Neal said calmly. Mirabelle healed her, making her feel much better.

"Thank you all for saving me." She said.

"But of course, Lady Rhea. This was our mission from the beginning, but that monster took you from us before we could reach it." Wymond said.

"A-are you alright, Neal?" She asked. She remembered earlier when he was hurt badly from the griffin's initial attack.

"Yeah! Never better!" He grinned. "Mirabelle's a real life saver!" He turned to her. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He said, and laughed.

"You wouldn't last ten seconds, that's for sure!" She exclaimed. Rhea smiled.

"Right. Now that we have slayed the griffin, let's see if anyone here is still alive and get out of here." Vyncent said. He wanted to return as soon as possible. Each day during their mission, he became more and more worried about the kingdom and how long Rhea was missing to them. He knew that he and Wymond were in for it when they return.

Unfortunately, the few people in the nest that were still whole had died. They had been in the nest longer than Rhea was, so they didn't make it. They buried them, and departed the mountain. Along the way down, they noticed that Khafka was gone as well.

It was only a matter of time before they would hear the news about the Water Crystal...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! This is the beginning of the next part of the story (Reminder: there will be four parts, ten chapters each). Part II is going to take a turn in the story. It's going to get a lot darker, and there will be more internal conflicts as well. Now you've seen a little bit of the main villain. I'm sure you know what he's going to do. But will they stop him? Who knows?


	13. Into Ice!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Twelve - Into Ice!**

Neal's team had successfully returned to Rothguard after defeating Garuda, the giant, evil bird of legend. When entering the castle again, a similar feeling of loneliness and depression befell Rhea. Seeing her for the first time in many days made the guards rush over to her. They had been extremely worried, despite her leaving a note reporting her sudden leave.

When they entered the throne room, the king welcomed them, curious of their adventure and the result. But when he saw Rhea, he looked displeased. She noticed this, and sighed, knowing later in the day he would lecture her about the strict rules of the kingdom.

"Were you triumphant?" The king asked after greeting everybody kindly. Vyncent bowed.

"Yes sir, your Majesty! Indeed, the griffin nested on Mount Ulhr, and we slayed it. Unfortunately, there were a few people inside the nest who were already deceased…" Vyncent said nobly.

"Excellent. Our townsfolk are safe now. It always traveled _many_ miles just to find people to devour." He shook his head. He turned to Rhea.

_Here it comes… _She thought.

"As for you…" He sighed. "I understand how you feel, young lady, after reading your letter. And I knew I could trust my two finest knights and the Warriors of the Light to protect you, but you cannot just sneak off like that again…" He said gravely. His tone was different than the usual, she noticed. It seemed as if he _completely _understood her feelings.

"I'd like to speak to you four." King Edwyn said, looking at Neal and the other three. Everyone else left the room respectively. Vyncent remained.

"Your Majesty, I need to talk about something that happened on that mountain that day." He said firmly. Edwyn could see it was something serious.

"Very well, Vyncent. We will talk later." He replied. Vyncent bowed and exited the throne room.

"At ease, my friends." He said, signifying the four children to stand up.

"I spoke with Raldah, while you were gone." He said. Midahn's eyes lit up. "And to Ingad as well." He said to Neal and Sevrin. "They wanted me to tell you what to do next."

Neal became interested. "What did they say, your Majesty?" He said almost excitedly. He kept his cool in front of the king.

"They informed me that something odd had occurred by the Northern Shoals. Do you know what is near the Northern Shoals?" He asked them. They shook their heads.

"The Water Crystal has disappeared." King Edwyn said.

"Huh? _Water..._Crystal?" Neal was confused.

"Are there more Crystals than the one inside Mount Ulhr, your Majesty?" Sevrin asked. He nodded.

"Let me tell you the story of the Crystals, which not too many know about." He said, he curled his finger and thumb to symbolize a small amount.

"There are more Crystals in this world. There are five, to be exact. The Crystal of Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and the most powerful of all, Light. They are all far spread throughout the land, possessing great power. They say one would need at least all four elemental Crystals to even have a chance at entering the Cave of the Light Crystal." He said. The four Warriors were confused.

"So that would mean we have to collect them in order to enter the cave we were just at?" Mirabelle asked.

"Not necessarily." Edwyn said. "You four are different. You possess the power of light within you. But the cave's barrier will not let you in until your will is strong enough. That will come with time and experience."

"What was 'odd' that occurred near the Northern Shoals, your Majesty?" Sevrin asked.

"Ah. Apparently, a large tower suddenly appeared out of nowhere by the Shoals. There hasn't been any information on construction in that area recently. It would take months anyways for _that_ size. Upon hearing these news, Ingad and Raldah both seemed worried, and replied urgently that you four should investigate immediately."

"Huh… a tower out of nowhere. Does seem suspicious, I suppose." Neal said.

"We'll go right away, your Majesty." Sevrin said assuringly. If Ingad thought that it was peculiar, then it surely seemed suspicious, he thought.

"Please, wait until tomorrow at least! It's already mid day, and the least we could do is give you our hospitality for one night for your bravery." The king said, smiling. Sevrin nodded and bowed. They had been walking back since the crack of dawn, and he could sure use some rest.

"Oh man, what should we do for the rest of the day?" Neal asked his friends once they left the throne room. Before anyone could answer, Neal bumped into Rhea when they turned a corner.

"Oh! Hi, Rhea!" Neal said, surprised that she was so close.

"I'm sorry, Neal!" She replied, red faced. She was convinced that they were thinking about she was listening in on them just now.

"That's okay. But we're going to be here for the whole day!" He said. "Speaking of which," He turned back to his friends. "Any ideas?"

"I'm tired. I just want to sit down for a while, honestly." Mirabelle said, sighing. The others nodded.

"Is there somewhere around here that is nice to relax at?" Midahn wondered. Neal's eyes lit up.

"Hey, I know a place! The park that you and I went to, remember Rhea?" He asked. She blushed again, remembering that night she spent with Neal.

"Yes, that is a beautiful park." She said, avoiding eye contact.

"Do you want to join us? You don't have to if you don't want to." Neal said.

"Sure! I love being with you guys." She said, smiling.

They left the front castle gates a few minutes later and headed for the town. Two guards accompanied them, since Rhea was with them. Atop one of the walls, A crow, who had been watching them took off and began flying north.

"Wow, this park sure is beautiful!" Mirabelle said when they arrived. She glanced around, admiring the green grass, flowers, pond, and the peaceful blue sky.

They laid down a large quilt on the soft grass. The birds chirped harmoniously, and the breeze was soothing. A few small clouds blocked the sun, giving them comfortable light during this fine, fall afternoon.

Sevrin was lying down with his hands behind his head, staring at the cloudy sky. Midahn was fast asleep. Sevrin glanced over his left, and saw Neal sitting cross-legged with Mirabelle and Rhea. They've been chatting the whole time.

_Man, what's with him lately? _Sevrin thought. _Since when did he become so talkative and open with girls? How does he even hold a conversation with them this long? _He faced the sky again, and shut his eyes.

Soon, the sky began to turn golden. The sun was beginning to set. A few grumbling stomachs later, they all stood up.

"Wow, I forgot we didn't even have any lunch today." Neal said, feeling his empty stomach.

"Should we find a place?" Mirabelle asked. She looked back and forth between Sevrin and Neal. Then the three of them remembered the small amount of gil that they have, and sighed.

"Don't worry. We promised you our hospitality for the day, didn't we?" Rhea said to them, smiling. They turned.

"It's about dinnertime at the castle. Let's go have a fine meal!" She said, grabbing their arms and started pulling them toward the castle.

They entered the castle, and Rhea led them to the main dining room. Inside, they were instantly struck by a pleasant aroma. There was a long table covered with so much food that the tablecloth could barely be seen.

"Is...Is this heaven?" Neal said, his eyes wandering between entrees and desserts. Rhea giggled. Mirabelle elbowed him.

"Don't start drooling… you're in the kingdom." She said quietly. He nodded.

They ate a grand meal with the king, Rhea, and the royal knights. Afterwards, a guard escorted Neal and his friends to their guest rooms, where they would stay for the night.

"Thanks!" Neal waved as the guard left. It was late in the evening. Neal, Sevrin, and Midahn were in one room, and Mirabelle was in the room next to them. Neal turned around and examined the room.

"Wow, this is huge." He examined the red and gold carpet on the floor, the silkiness of the bedspread, and the large window, which gave them an excellent view of the moon and stars.

"There's even a large bath over here!" Midahn called out to them from across the room, while leaning out of the open doorway to the bathroom.

"Man, this castle really is nice." Neal noted.

"You just now noticed?" Sevrin asked. He shrugged.

"Didn't really pay much attention to this kind of stuff, I guess. And hey! I'm going first, Midahn! Don't you even think about it!" He shouted to Midahn. In the other room, Mirabelle rolled her eyes after hearing his loud mouth.

"No! It's one of those old ones!" Midahn replied. Neal tilted his head.

"What do you mean?" He was confused.

"It's _big._ Like the ones that a lot of people go in at the same time!" Midahn said.

"Huh? What kind of a bath is _that_?" He said to himself, and walked over to see for himself.

"Oh. I see…" It looked like a pool. He noticed there was warm water already inside, as steam filled the room.

"They even prepared warm _baths_?" He said, shocked. Midahn nodded.

"Yeah! It was like this when I first entered the room!" He said excitedly. Neal shrugged.

"Well, might as well!" He said, taking off the robe that the king provided for him while they cleaned their original clothes. He stepped into the bath.

"Ahh! This water feels good!" He said. Sevrin and Midahn entered the bath after him.

"Now I see why they put Mirabelle in another room." Sevrin commented. He and Neal started snickering.

"What's so funny?" Midahn asked. They both turned towards him.

"Ahh nothing, little buddy." Neal said, patting him on the head.

"Anyways, I wonder what this tower thing is all about." Sevrin said, thinking about what the king told them earlier.

"What would make Ingad worry so quickly like that?" Neal wondered. "Well, none of that really matters right now." He balled his hand into a fist. "This will be our _first_ real quest together, just the four of us." He said confidently. "We have to show everyone what we can do!"

"Yeah, you got a point there." Sevrin said, forgetting about Ingad's urgency and enjoyed the rest of his bath.

In the other room, Mirabelle heard a knock on the door. She opened it. It was Rhea.

"Oh hi, Rhea! I thought you were one of the boys trying to mess with me or something." She said, laughing a little.

"Hello!" She said, smiling. "I was kinda bored. Do you want to talk?" She asked. Mirabelle nodded, and she entered the room. They both sat cross-legged on the large bed.

"So, this is going to be your last night here…" She said.

"I don't think so!" Mirabelle replied assuringly. "We are just going to investigate something that happened by the Northern Shoals. I'm sure we'll be back before you know it!"

Rhea smiled, but then sighed. "But what about after? I'm sure you all will have to leave soon and go to many other places in the world…" She knew about them and their quest.

Mirabelle nodded gravely. "I-I guess you're right. But we will definitely come back from time to time. You can count on that!" She said, placing her hand on Rhea's shoulder.

She laughed. "You sounded like Neal there." Mirabelle pictured him pointing his finger at her angrily saying that she copied him.

"Yeah, his mindset rubs off on us sometimes." She said, laughing. "He can be such a knucklehead."

"Oh, he isn't that ba-" Rhea began to say, but they suddenly heard muffled yelling in the room next door.

"And the idiots are going at it…" Mirabelle said sarcastically. They could hear them moving around now, as if they were wrestling. Mirabelle sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rhea. They are really immature, and shouldn't be acting like that in the kingdom… I'll get them to stop." Mirabelle said, opening the door. As soon as she left the room, Rhea could see her ball her hands into fists.

"Alright you idiots! Stop messing around!" She said after wrenching open the door. Neal was bent over Sevrin, and he was gripping his shirt collar with one hand and a raised fist as the other. He stopped and turned towards Mirabelle.

"Um… Hi." He said. He knew he was in for it. Then he saw Rhea appear behind her in the doorway.

"You're wide open!" Sevrin said, flipping him over swiftly by twisting his legs. Now he had his fist raised toward Neal. He turned toward the doorway, and saw an enraged Mirabelle and Rhea by the door.

"Uh…" He let Neal go, embarrassed at acting like a fool in the castle.

"Stop. Please. Just behave." Mirabelle said. Neal and Sevrin got up. Neal scratched his head, and laughed.

"Sorry 'bout that. Heh. It was pointless anyways…" He said.

"We...uh…" Was all Sevrin could say.

"Neal called the bed by the big window, but Sevrin said _he_ wanted it! And then they started fighting for it!" Midahn said, grinning. Neal and Sevrin scowled at him.

"Really… You two…over _that_?" Mirabelle facepalmed. She turned to Rhea.

"I'm sorry, again." She pointed her thumb behind her at Neal and Sevrin. "They are...Oh I don't even know what to say anymore!" She stumbled. Rhea waved both her hands.

"It's okay! Don't worry about it! What is living without a little excitement?" Rhea said. They remembered how she felt about being a princess and living in the castle. "Well, anyways, you all have a long day tomorrow, so you should probably get some rest. G-goodnight!" It seemed like she wanted to say more, but she began to leave the room.

"Hey, wait!" Neal called out. She turned. "You know this won't be the last time we see you!" He said.

"Uh...I…" She began to say. "I'll see you off tomorrow morning." She said. Neal grinned.

"We'll be back before you know it!" He said reassuringly. They all said goodnight to her as she went to bed herself.

_But when you come back… You'll leave forever! _She thought, tears flowing from her eyes as she ran through the halls to her room.

The Warriors woke up to a cold, clear morning. There was still dew on the plants, and people could see their own breath outside.

"I-it's quite chilly, so I brought you these." Rhea said, handing each of them a thick tunic. They each were custom fitted and different. Neals' was a long sleeved henley. Sevrin's was a skin tight top that would provide extra warmth underneath his shozoku. Midahn's was similar to Sevrin's, and Mirabelle's was like Neal's, except more feminine. After handing each of them their new clothes, crossed her arms and started shivering.

"Wow, this fits _perfectly_!" Neal said after putting his on underneath his breastplate. He threw back on his cloak after that. "Thanks, Rhea!"

The others agreed. "Yes, this feels so versatile and comfortable!" Sevrin said, moving his arms aroun. Rhea blushed.

"Oh it was n-nothing." She said shyly. "So… I guess you'll be heading off?" She said almost reluctantly. Neal nodded.

"Yeah, but don't sweat it. We'll come back _here_ before continuing our journey." He replied confidently.

"P-Promise me." She said to Neal, trying to hold back tears. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I promise." He gave her his usual grin. She peered into his bright blue eyes, and could see adventure and life in them. They were nothing at all like the next time she would see those two eyes again...

_I'm going to miss that grin… Goodbye Neal…_ She thought. They began to head north, toward the fields where they once fought monsters to defend the kingdom what seemed like ages ago. Neal waved a lot as they went farther and farther away from the back of the kingdom. Tears fell from Rhea's face. She felt like it was the last time she would see him again. The joy, fun, and excitement that he introduced into her life was disappearing. She cried and sniffled as she returned inside the castle.

"Alright! We're travelin' again!" Neal yelled, raising his hands in the cool air as they walked through the field. They reached the very area where Neal first used his guard breaker attack. He smiled, thinking about how proud of himself he was for achieving that level of strength, and how much of a fool he was back then. His fighting style was so sloppy and inefficient back then, he can't even picture himself surviving today if he still fought like that.

"I wonder what's beyond this field. We've never been farther north than here before." Mirabelle wondered.

"There shouldn't be too much land beyond here. Rothguard is quite far north as it is, since it's so cold up here…" Sevrin noted.

"Do ya think we can make it there by tonight?" Neal asked, gripping his sword rested on his back with excitement. "I want to go _wild._"

Mirabelle looked at him oddly. _That's not like him… He seems almost… bloodthirsty or something._ She looked at Sevrin. He had a similar expression of uncertainty too.

"We don't know if the tower is even a threat yet, Neal." Midahn reminded him. Neal grunted.

"Yeah, true. I just want to keep practicing my fighting skills. Ever since Sir Vyncent started teaching me how to actually use this thing I just want to get even better." He said.

"Well, you could cut monsters with it all day and not gain any skill. You must spar with _people_ in order to increase your skill. People are intelligent, unlike those monsters. Sure, you could gain strength off fighting monsters, but not skill in swordplay." Sevrin said.

"Wow, you sure know a lot about that, Sevrin!" Mirabelle said. Midahn nodded in agreement.

"You can help all of us become stronger, Sev!" Midahn said.

"Hey, those are actually some wise words, man!" Neal said excitedly. "Now that I picture it in my head, that makes complete sense. You're truly keen, ninja!"

"Heh. It's simple, really. But it's something that a beginner learns in order to advance quickly."

He replied.

"Did you learn about that in your ninja village?" Mirabelle asked curiously. He nodded.

"That settles it, then! We're going to look for ways that we can all increase our skills! Damn. I want to start right now!" Neal said, slamming his fists together impatiently.

"Wow, you sure are hard-headed, Neal!" Midahn said.

"You know, all those times you and I sparred didn't really help much. We're in completely different worlds in combat." Neal said. Sevrin laughed.

"You got that right. I couldn't learn _anything_ off you." Sevrin replied.

"So you're telling me that you two became this strong from only fighting against _each other?_" Mirabelle asked. She recalled all the times when they both have shown their bravery and toughness against their foes.

"No way!" Sevrin said. Neal laughed. They both turned to her.

"You wanna know how we got _this_ strong?" Neal asked her, flexing his arm. "Through dedication and desire. I might be pretty dumb sometimes, but I've worked hard to become tough as hell. One thing _I_ learned is that you'll never reach your goals unless you have the desire to, and push yourself every day until you become satisfied." He said seriously.

"We used to be weak, and scared." Sevrin added. "In this world, you've got to be _tough_. You can't protect if you're not strong or confident enough." Mirabelle almost shivered. She sometimes get scared seeing Neal and Sevrin fight. Their facial expressions were so tenacious and fearless.

"That's just how you survive, where _we_ come from." Neal said, as if reading her thoughts. She didn't think much on it, but Sevrin and Neal have lived much more scary lives than she could possibly think.

It was starting to get dark, as hours passed by. "Hey, what's that?" Midahn pointed to a clearing up ahead. They peered more closely, and could see a rough looking beach.

"Did we make it to the Shoals?" Neal asked.

"Looks like it." Sevrin said.

"Already? I guess we _did_ make it by tonight… But I was expecting to find more monsters along the way. There were hardly any at all…" He said, disappointed.

"And that's a _bad_ thing?" Mirabelle asked sarcastically. They started to walk along the shoreline.

"King Edwyn said it should be just about a mile east once we've encountered the Shoals." Sevrin said. They continued east along the shore. Finally they found it.

The large tower was tall and eery. There was frost covering the stone bricks that made up the tower. An icy aura surrounded it, giving off cold mist.

"What's with this p-place?" Midahn said, chattering his teeth.

"It's freezing just being so close to it from the outside…" Neal noticed. "I wonder what it's going to be like _inside._"

"Well, we won't know until we enter it and see for ourselves." Sevrin said, pulling open the door.

Up at the top of the tower, a crow watched the four Warriors enter the tower of ice. It flew inside through a narrow window, perching onto a man's shoulder. He smiled.

"So they've come."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! The Rothguard Saga has come to a close. The Elemental Towers/Crystals Saga begins. More action will occur. Skills will increase, malice will build up, and lives will be threatened. Into the first tower, Ice. What awaits?


	14. Demon of Ice!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen - Demon of Ice?!**

"Damn. It _is_ colder inside…" Neal said. As they entered the mysteriously frosted tower, the doors suddenly slammed shut behind them.

"Woah! What the hell?" He said, trying to pry the doors back open. "We're locked in! They won't budge…"

"What _is_ this place…?" Sevrin said, examining the odd room they were inside. The walls were covered in ice. Mist spread throughout the entire room. The stairs and floor were cracked everywhere.

"Why does this place look ruined?" Mirabelle wondered. "Wasn't it just eradicated out of thin air just recently?"

"Yeah. None of this seems right." Sevrin said, raising his guard. "I'm getting some strange vibes… Consider anything inside this tower as a threat."

Midahn gulped. "W-what could be inside?" He asked, frightened. He was shivering now with fear, not just because of the cold.

"Stay behind me, guys." Neal said confidently. He drew his sword, and held it defensively. "And keep a lookout around us, while you're at it."

"Good idea. We don't know _what_ could jump out at us." Sevrin said cautiously.

"N-now you're scaring me!" Midahn said, grabbing Mirabelle's arm tightly. Internally, the other three felt bad for Midahn, since he was a lot younger and more timid.

They began to move. The walls were very dimly lit, so it was hard to see. Each of them kept watch from different angles, ready for an ambush. They didn't keep have the rear covered well…

After a few minutes of wandering around the first floor, they finally discovered a set of stairs that was fit enough to climb. Only a few steps were broken or missing.

"I sense something upstairs." Sevrin said. They stopped at the doorway.

"How many?" Neal whispered. He still kept a tight grip on his sword.

"Multiple. Don't know for sure, but just more than one." He replied. Midahn started to quiver.

Neal patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, buddy. Just stay focused." He said.

They stepped through the doorway. Inside, they saw large, slimy beings crawling around.

Sevrin raised his fist up, signaling them to be dead silent.

"Ew! What the hell are _those?!_" Neal yelled out, covering his mouth. They stopped moving, and slowly turned toward him.

"Damnit, Neal! Shut up!" Sevrin said. The slimy beings began to squirm towards them.

They were surrounded by the slimes. "Now look what you did…" Sevrin scoffed.

"Sorry man. These things are uglier than hell…" Neal replied, laughing. He then slashed at a group of them. He cleaved through them, and the white slime splattered into a puddle. Suddenly, the puddles began to gather together and reform back to their original states.

"Shit! I can't cut through them!" Neal said, now serious. "How do we defeat them?"

"Here, let's see what these things _really_ are!" Mirabelle said, raising her staff. "_Libra!"_ She casted the spell onto one of the slimes, and a stream of wind rushed over to her head. Her eyes widened.

"What's their weakness?" Sevrin asked her immediately, after swiftly dodging its attack.

"They're called flans. Physical attacks are useless, as they can just reform. These ones are white, so they contain the power of ice. So their weakness is… fire magic!" She informed them.

Midahn raised his staff. "_Fire!_" A flame engulfed the flan, melting the icy slime.

"Hey, that worked!" Neal said. "But all we can do right now is defend. Keep up your fire, Midahn!"

"Okay!" He replied, raising his staff for another fire spell. The room kept illuminating for each fire spell Midahn casted. Eventually, they burned all the remaining flans to crisps.

"Whew!" Neal said, wiping his forehead.

"Easy for you to say…" Midahn said, hunched over. He was breathing heavily.

"You must have exhausted yourself, casting fire so many times…" Mirabelle said.

"We should probably get some rest." Sevrin said.

"Where? We gotta find somewhere safe." Neal said, looking around.

"Agh… Just standing here is making me even more cold…" Mirabelle said, crossing her arms and shivering.

"Eh... I hate to say it, Midahn," Neal said, and grabbed an extinguished torch off the wall. "But could you cast fire one more time?" He asked. Midahn sighed, and raised his hand up, lighting the torch.

They sat down against the wall, while Neal held the torch around them. Midahn still looked drained of energy.

"It doesn't look like he's getting much better…" Sevrin said.

"He's regained his breath, though." Mirabelle said. "How are you feeling, Midahn?" She asked him.

"N-not good…" He muttered. She nodded.

"I figured. That's why I brought _this_." She pulled something from inside her white mage robe pocket. It was a blue vial, containing odd, glowing liquid.

"W-what's that?" Midahn asked nervously.

"Drink it. It won't hurt you. It will replenish your magical energy quickly." She said, handing it to him. He held it, and examined the liquid closely. Neal was doing the same.

"Is it… _natural_? It doesn't seem so…" Neal said. Mirabelle scowled at him, silently telling him to shut it.

"It's fine. It's an ether." She said.

Midahn trusted her, so he drank it. Within a few moments, he perked up. "Woah, I feel great!" He leapt up. The color returned to his face. He was bursting with energy.

"See? What did I tell ya?" She said. They all stood up.

"Well alright, I guess…" Neal shrugged. "Let's get going. Hopefully we won't run into more of those flans, so Midahn won't get exhausted again."

They ascended to the next floor. They encountered a few large beasts, with the body of a wolf and the head of a tiger. They also had sharp claws.

"Uhh…" Mirabelle and Midahn shuttered, and stepped back. Sevrin took a defensive stance. He gripped his knives tightly.

"These look more like _our_ cup of tea." Sevrin said, referring to he and Neal. They gulped and nodded, staying right behind the two.

Neal smiled deviously. "Alright! Let's take them out." He said confidently. He wasn't scared at all.

"T-those things are huge… Be careful, Neal." Mirabelle stuttered. She couldn't believe how courageous he was.

One of the four-legged beasts jumped at him. It leapt from a far distance, and it raised its claws as it roared toward him.

Mirabelle's heart began to pump intensely. _What the hell are you doing?! You're just standing still! It's going to kill you!_ She thought. Sevrin was thinking the same thing.

But Neal stood there, waiting. When it was getting close, he lunged at it, swinging his massive sword ferociously. His blade met its claws. The beasts rear legs were raised high, as it leapt high to attack him. Its front paws were pushing against Neal's blade. For a few seconds, Neal was holding the beast up in mid air. The sheer downward force of it began to push Neal into the floor. The ice began to crack underneath his feet. He gritted his teeth, and pushed it off to the side, knocking it onto the ground.

_He...withstood its attack!_ Mirabelle thought.

_He was testing its strength… _Sevrin thought. _I didn't think he was smart enough to do something like that…_

The beast kicked back up on its legs, now angry. It snarled viciously at them.

"Looks like…" Neal began to say. They all looked at him. "...I…" They thought he was going to evaluate how powerful it was.

"...pissed them off." He ended.

"Wh...what?" Mirabelle said, confused.

"They look pretty angry now, heh. They're growling at us." He said.

"That's...it?" She asked. "You weren't testing how strong it was or anything?

"Oh...uh...yeah. I was doing that." He said, but it was obvious that he didn't. They sighed.

"You know, sometimes I think you aren't much of an idiot anymore, but you're just an idiot." She said, shaking her head.

"Well say that again after this!" He shouted as he dashed toward one of the beasts, and swung at it savagely. He cut it deeply, sending blood spewing. It reared up, and cried out in pain. The others then lunged at Neal, who was now the closest. He hurriedly scrambled back over to his friends.

"Ah! That was close!" He said, and quickly turned around to block one of their attacks. But he wasn't quick enough, and it clawed into his chest, knocking him backwards five feet. He hit the ground hard. Sevrin managed to block the other beast's attack successfully.

"Neal!" Mirabelle and Midahn shouted. He shook his head and hopped back up. He grinned.

"It's alright. I have _this_ on, remember?" His trusty steel breastplate, recently reforged and back to new, now had three deep gashes in them from the beast's claws. He looked down at it, and sighed.

"Damn, it was just fixed up, too! I'll get you back for that!" He shook his finger at the monster.

"Hey, what are you standin' around for?" Sevrin asked while he blocked and attacked the beasts.

Neal immediately engaged with one of them. Sevrin glanced at Mirabelle and Midahn. Mirabelle's eyes widened. She waved both of her hands.

"W-what should _I_ do?! I'm a healer, and nobody needs healing at the moment!" She protested. Midahn raised his staff.

"_Thunder!"_ He sent a small lighting shockwave onto one as it jumped at Sevrin. He zapped it in mid air, sending it crashing onto the ground. Sevrin took this as an opportunity, and pierced it swiftly in multiple locations, finishing it off.

"Nice job!" Sevrin complimented. He turned to Neal. "Now there's only one left…"

Neal was still fighting it. Constant contact of his sword against its claws was heard, as neither could land a single hit.

"Do it again, Midahn!" Mirabelle said, shaking him by the shoulders.

"No, if I do, I might accidently strike Neal!" Midahn replied.

"He's right. Let Neal finish it off by himself." Sevrin said. She was nervous though. The gashes in his armor were enormous.

It seemed like it was going nowhere. Neal had to come up with something to get through. He came up with an idea.

_Since we keep attacking at exactly the same time, I should change the pace, and strike it when it least expects it!_ He thought.

This time, when the beast pounced at him, Neal hopped back, dodging its claws. But just after it missed, Neal swung around and cleaved its legs off. It fell to the ground, and he finished it off. He put one foot on its dead body, and raised his sword high.

"Hah! That's what you get for wrecking my armor!" He exclaimed.

Mirabelle breathed a sigh of relief. Although she hardly did anything, she was sweating from the nerve wracking battle they just had.

"I'm surprised none of them actually landed a single attack on either of you…" She said. Neal scowled, and pointed at the claw mark in his armor. "I mean _injure_ you, stupid."

"Hmph. Let's just keep moving then, 'Ms. Useful'." He said sarcastically. He started to walk forward, and braced himself for her to smack him, like she usually does when he jokes around like that.

She gritted her teeth, and prepared to smack him, but stopped. She then looked down in shame, hearing his remark. Her heart ached when he said that, and felt like an anchor was weighing her down.

After a few seconds, seeing that she didn't hit him, he turned around. He saw tears starting to brim in her eyes.

_Shit! Agh… I wasn't even thinking when I said that…_ He thought, as he remembered that she gets depressed about that sometimes. _It was just a joke…_

"Hey, I didn't mean it, Mirabelle. I'm sorry, I was just kidding around." He put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but she knocked it away. She turned around and started to run away, crying.

"Wait!" He called out to her. She disappeared through the doorway. She immediately sat down against the wall on the other side, crying. She buried her head into her hands, leaning against her knees.

Seeing her look so hurt like that, Neal looked down, and balled his fists. "I...I hate seeing anyone look so _hurt_, especially if it was because...of me…" He stammered. He sounded angry and sad. He then took off after her.

Midahn raised his hand. "W-wait!" Sevrin lowered his hand.

"Don't worry. He's going to go fix things. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings." Sevrin told him.

Neal ran through the doorway and began to look around. The room was a lot darker than the other one, and he didn't hear her, since she was being deadly quiet. When he didn't hear or see her for a minute, he leaned against the wall on the other side of the door, away from where she was, and slid to the floor.

"Damn..._Damn!_ Why did I say that? I'm such a jerk! I can't even believe myself…" He screamed in anguish. She sniffled quiet on the other side of the doorway. He immediately looked over in that direction. "Mirabelle?"

She didn't answer him. He ran over to her.

"I-I'm sorry. Even though I didn't mean it at all, I know how it can make you feel… I'm a jerk." He hung his head in shame. She still didn't say anything to him, but knew how bad he felt about saying it.

"You're far from worthless, you know that? I've said this before, but it's true, and _still_ true. Don't think bad on yourself! You're one of _us._ You have the power of light hidden inside you just as much as me, Sevrin, and Midahn does. There's no difference." He said.

"I'd probably be dead by now if you weren't here, knowing how reckless I am…" He said, and laughed a little. She giggled a bit. His eyes brightened up.

"Right now, these battles we engage in, make us stronger. All of us. If you think you're not strong enough, then just train harder." He told her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You _are_ pretty reckless." She said. He laughed.

"Oh I see how it is!" He replied brightly. But she understood his words of encouragement. He knew she did too.

She gasped. "You're bleeding!" Blood was dripping from his forearm.

"Oh yeah. That thing actually _did_ get me, heh." He said.

She raised her hand, and began to heal his arm. The wound closed up instantly.

He smiled and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and and he pulled her up.

They rejoined Midahn and Sevrin. "Alright, let's move on. Who knows what awaits at the top, so stay on your guard." Sevrin said. Midahn smiled, seeing Mirabelle back to normal.

"How close are we, do you think?" Neal asked, resting his sword on his shoulders.

"Well, it looked pretty tall from the outside, and we've only climbed a few levels, so not quite close yet." He replied.

"No time to waste, then." Neal said, and he started walking toward the next doorway.

They advanced through the next few floors, facing more monsters along the way. Midahn blasted through them with his fire, and Neal and Sevrin slashed and pierced through the rest. They reached a large door that looked different than the rest.

"Hmm… do you sense anything behind there?" Neal asked Sevrin. He focused his mind. He squinted a bit.

"Uh… it's hazy. I can feel a lot of ice in there, though." He said.

"Oh really. Who would've figured?" Neal said sarcastically. He turned around and faced the door again. They all stood there in silence.

"So what should we do?" Mirabelle asked.

"Well, we should definitely be prepared for anything threatening." Sevrin said. "It could be something different than the rest of them on the way up here."

Neal was staring at the door while they were discussing it. He then raised his foot up, and kicked open the door. Sevrin immediately pulled out his knives.

"Geez! A little warning!" He said.

"Huh. I thought you would _sense_ me before I did that." Neal replied.

"You…" Sevrin said angrily. But then he peered inside the room. The ice was much thicker than the rest of the tower. The mist was extremely thick as well. They could barely see inside. As soon as Neal opened the door, the mist started to pour out.

"Agh, I can _feel_ how cold it is before even stepping in!" Neal remarked.

They cautiously stepped inside the room, and began to look around. They could hardly see anything.

"_So… you've made it this far, I see." _An voice echoed inside the room. They instantly guarded themselves.

"Who's there?! What're you doing here?" Neal asked. The voice laughed.

"_Oh. It could be a little game, for all the matter. That is, if you are who I think you are…"_ It said. They gritted their teeth.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Neal asked.

"_We will find out, if you can get through this alive."_ Suddenly, the mist began to clear. A large being was standing across the room. It's extremely tall, with white scales, monstrous arms, and two gray horns sticking out of its head. It's eyes were glowing bright red.

"What the hell is that?" Neal exclaimed, gripping his sword tightly.

"_That is Tundris. The Demon of the Ice. Let's see how you fare against the power of my demon. Ha ha ha ha ha!" _The voice said as it began to faint away.

"Who are you?!" Neal called out, but there was no response.

"Damn. It was a trap." Sevrin said. He was completely focused on the demon. It was just standing there, glaring at them, not moving an inch. Just its presence alone was unnerving.

"Tch. Don't let that guy get to you! We need to kill this thing!" Neal said. Its eyes glinted, and suddenly it started to move. The ground shook with each step it took, as it slowly stepped towards Neal and the others.

"Do you fear me?" It spoke to them. It's booming, unsettling voice was definitely demonic.

They began to quiver a bit. A real demon was slowly advancing toward them. They felt frozen in fear, and not from the ice.

_Can't...move!_ Sevrin thought. He couldn't even clench his hands at all. Midahn was staring at it, his mouth agape. Mirabelle was shaking badly.

"Hell no!" Neal exclaimed, and his face was full of seriousness and determination. That snapped the others out of their trances.

_He...really is fearless…_ Mirabelle thought. She truly admired that about him. He was definitely hard-headed, but his courage was through the roof.

"Hm? You show no fear in the presence of Tundris? How courageous. Regardless, I will kill you all." It spat out.

"You've got that all wrong, you freak! You're going to die by _our_ hand! We'll show you the power of _light_!" Neal screamed. He charged at Tundris.

"No!" Mirabelle called out. She knew that he was definitely no match for the demon. She didn't think he would just charge at it like that all on his own.

"How foolish! I will just squash you like a bug!" Tundris said. It grabbed Neal violently with its huge hand and slammed him against the wall. Neal grunted in pain.

"Neal!" Mirabelle screamed. Sevrin gritted his teeth.

Tundris laughed evilly. "I'll crush you first, then your friends soon after!" It started to squeeze Neal. He started to scream out in pain. Suddenly, Tundris felt a burn on his side. He turned his head toward the other three. Midahn's staff was raised. He hit Tundris with fire.

"Hmph. You'll never defeat with those puny flames. I think I'll destroy you next!" It said. It then turned back to Neal. "Now, where was I?"

Before it could start crushing Neal again, it felt something strike its side in the same spot where the small fire did. It growled.

"My… You're a _persistent _bunch… Maybe you just want to die sooner-" It stopped as Neal wrenched himself free out of its grip. He fell to the ground, rolled over and picked up his sword. He then quickly leapt back to his friends' side.

"I'm beginning to grow impatient… I'm going to shred you little ants to pieces!" It raised its arms, and the icy mist began to fill the room again. It was now even thicker than before. It's glowing red eyes even vanished from their view.

"Shit! We can't see it anymore!" Neal said. He turned to Sevrin. "Can you sense it?"

Sevrin shook his head. "Damn. This mist must distort senses in this room. I can't sense _anything_ now…" Neal gritted his teeth.

"Stay on your guard. It can come from anywhere!" He said.

They heard Tundris' laughter. "That's right, little worms! This mist envelopes every kind of presence! You will never know when I will strike!"

"It sounded like it came from over there!" Neal said.

"Don't split up! You'll die if you do! We need to stay like this, so we can have all directions covered!" Sevrin said, pulling Neal back. They could hear its laughter again.

"I enjoy the fear I strike into you! I enjoy getting to rip you apart without you knowing where I am! That makes it all the better!" It said viciously.

"Damn… We need to get rid of this mist somehow!" Neal said.

"Argh… but how?" Sevrin said in frustration.

"Here I come! But which one will it be?" Tundris said maniacally. They were all sweating in anticipation and anxiety.

_Shit...what do we do now?_ Neal thought. Suddenly, its evil laughter began to come closer and closer.

_I...won't let you do this to us! _Mirabelle thought. Seeing Neal being suffocated by its hand made her angry. She raised her staff, and screamed out. Light began to emerge from it, and a gale of wind swept all around them, clearing away the mist. Tundris became visible. He was targeting… Midahn!

Neal quickly turned to his right. Midahn was next to him, and he raised his sword. Tundris' huge fist slammed into the blade, sending all of them flying back. He blocked most of it just in time.

_That spell… How did I...? That was Aero, the wind spell. I didn't even learn it from a spellbook of it…_ Mirabelle thought.

"That was great, Mirabelle!" Sevrin said. Tundris grunted.

"You're still alive… You've really ridded my patience, now!" It said angrily. It began to lunge straight for them again. But Neal swung his sword straight it, stopping the demon completely this time.

"What the-?" Tundris exclaimed. "How are you different now?"

Neal slowly looked up at Tundris. He was smiling maniacally and unsettlingly. "That's...enough!" He said harshly. He sounded more rough and edgy. Neal began to go on a rampagical blitz, swinging furiously at Tundris. The demon was blocking all of his attacks, but was actually on the _defensive_, now.

"Rgh! This kid…" Tundris said, still defending itself against Neal's barrage. "That's not enough to defeat me!" It said, and swung its arm toward him, intending to clobber him to the side. He swiftly leaned back and dodged it perfectly. As soon as he leaned back, he leaned back forward and continued to wildly swing at Tundris, as if the arm wasn't thrown toward him at all.

"What is with Neal…" Mirabelle said. It was just like the time before. He became so cold, and almost..._evil._

"He's scary…" Midahn said, edging away from them. Sevrin was watching him, confused as well.

_He changed completely...in both personality… and strength._ He thought.

Neal began to laugh madly as he slashed furiously at Tundris.

"Tch! You think this is a game…?!" It exclaimed. _But his power… it changed so rapidly…. Urgh!_

Neal landed a blow onto the demon's chest. He made it stagger backwards. His intense display of swordplay came to an end, as he fell to his knees. He dropped his sword, and grabbed his head.

"Agh… My head is _aching_!" He said, sounding normal again. His friends rushed over to him.

"A-are you okay?" Mirabelle asked him. She was still frightened by him, keeping a little bit of distance.

"Huh? Yeah. What just happened?" He asked. Sevrin, Mirabelle, and Midahn looked at each other uncertainly. Neal was confused, but just shook it off.

"Where'd the demon go?" He asked. Then he saw it lying on the ground, with a deep gash across its chest. "Woah. When did _that_ happen?"

"You… did that." Sevrin told him. He tilted his head.

"What? How?" He asked. Then the demon slammed its fist onto the floor.

"Rgh! I've enough of you ridiculing me! I will end you here!" It said, getting back on its feet.

Neal scowled, and picked back up his sword. "I don't really know what happened just now, but it looks like we stand a chance against that thing now. So let's take it out together!" He said.

Tundris was definitely weakened by the rage driven Neal's crippling strike. It slowed down in order to avoid opening up the wound further. _What the hell is this? _It thought, looking down at the wound. Light purple steam was rising from the wound, and it stung. _Poison?!_

"He's weak!" Neal shouted, and advanced toward it quickly. "Guard Breaker!" He slashed across the demon's chest again, making an 'X' from the wounds. But, his Guard Breaker attack's wound was smaller than the first one.

_What?! His Guard Breaker was weaker than the other one?! _Sevrin thought with disbelief.

Tundris cried out in pain. He staggered backwards. Neal turned to Midahn. "Now's your chance! Hit it with as much fire as you can!"

Midahn raised his staff. "_Fire_!" He blasted the ice demon with fire, sending it crashing into the ground. It began to fade into ashes.

_I...can't believe this…_ Was all the demon said, with the image of the insane Neal slashing at him as his final thought.

"We...did it!" Neal exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. They all fell to their knees. It was an exhausting fight.

"No… We need to get out of here. It's too cold…" Sevrin said. If they were to rest there for much longer, they would be frostbitten. They descended the tower. A crow, who was watching them through a tiny slit in the wall flew away from the tower.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! I checked out some stats on the story, and I've hit 200 views! Thanks again! There's more to come every week! A mysterious man had lured the Warriors into his Tower of Ice to...test them? Also, we saw that one side of Neal again. His cold insanity that is unleashed if he gets mad enough. That will play an important role later on...


	15. True Intentions!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen - True Intentions?!**

The rocky canyons in the South were quiet and peaceful. Small nocturnal animals crawled and roamed around the plains. It was another starry night. The dark sky was crystal clear, and the moon illuminated the land brightly below. A small village slept quietly at the base of the Elstonia Canyon. The calmness and serenity was about to end, as a night terror was approaching…

He stepped foot into the center of the shabby village. He examined each of the small huts surrounding him. He could not hear a single sound from any of them. He continued walking through the village, as it wasn't of any importance. His target was hidden inside deep inside the canyon, containing the _real_ secrets of Eltonia.

He entered a cave beyond the village, that was hidden inside the rocky terrain of the canyon. He treaded on in the darkness, and found the large underground kingdom of Elstonia. There was something there he wanted…

"Wow, rough day!" Neal said, kicking back at their small camp for the night. "How long have we been travelling?" He asked the others.

"About two weeks now, I think." Sevrin said, looking at their map. "It took about a week to make it back to Gariland, and we've been moving south for about another."

"The complete opposite way from Isthal, huh." He thought. After defeating Tundris, the demon of Ice, they said goodbye to their friends in the kingdom of Rothguard, and continued on with their journey. They heard wind of Crystal of Water being recently stolen, and decided to investigate. They were told that the closest Crystal to the Water was the Crystal of Earth, located in a hidden empire called Elstonia.

"We should be getting close to Elstonia, now that I think about it." Sevrin said, examining the map closely. He pointed to a small landmark, and then dragged his finger slightly to Elstonia.

"We passed that place yesterday. I recognize it. So we could make it tomorrow easy."

"Sounds good to me…" Mirabelle said. "Walking so much every day can get pretty boring."

"Say, isn't your hometown around here?" Neal asked Mirabelle. "You said it's in the South, right?"

"Well, yes, but it's not really that close from here. Magus is located in the south-_east_. We are more directly south. And Midahn's is even farther south-east, right?" She turned to Midahn. He nodded.

"Yeah, it's _really_ far away!" He repled.

"Maybe we can go check 'em out sometime!" He said to them. "And me and Sev can show you ours!"

"Your hometown sounds _scary_." Mirabelle said. "But yeah, I don't mind."

"If only we had a faster method of travel, though… That'd sure be _convenient_." He said, sighing.

"So what will our plan be once we reach Elstonia?" Sevrin asked. They all sat around the fire silently for a moments, deep in thought.

"Well, they must have heard about the disappearance of the Water Crystal, so their security must be tighter than ever. Since our intentions of going there are about their Crystal, they would probably think we are suspicious…" Mirabelle noted.

"True." Sevrin nodded. "If we put ourselves in their shoes, we're just a group of kids who know about their secret, and are considered a threat. We should probably keep a low profile when we're there."

"Hmph. We have to act like sneaks… What if nothing's going on over there? What if this trip was for nothing?" Neal asked.

"Someone nabbed the Water Crystal not too long ago. They must know about its sacred powers, so what wouldn't make them go for the others?" Sevrin told him. Neal scratched his head.

"Whoever this guy is, he's threatening the balance and unity of the _world_. Not something to take lightly…" Mirabelle said.

"Alright. I get it. These crystals really are a big deal…" Neal said, deep in thought.

"Let's discuss this further in the morning. We should get some rest." Sevrin said. They nodded, and turned in for the night.

That night, Sevrin had a dream. A girl was dashing through a forest. He could see fear in her eyes, and she kept turning around, as if she was being chased. A shadowy aura was pursuing her from behind. He recognized who she was, but couldn't understand why she was in his dream. He hadn't seen her in a very long time, so she looked much different. But how could he even picture this?

"Wake up." Mirabelle said abruptly, causing his vivid dream to dissolve away into black. She slapped him in the face to get his attention.

"Agh! What was that for?" Sevrin said, now fully awake, rubbing his cheek angrily. She put her finger to her mouth quickly, to hush him.

"Neal heard something outside…" She whispered. He turned to his left, and noticed that Neal was missing. Midahn was gone as well. He jumped up.

"Damnit! How did _they_ hear it and not _me_?!" He bellowed. She covered his mouth.

"Will you _shut up_?!" She angrily whispered. "It could be a huge monster or something."

"There's no way." He whispered back. "You detected this area to be completely safe." She looked away.

"Well...I might not have used the spell correctly…I-I'm not perfect…" She stammered.

"No, you've always been right before. You're good at that." He said, and lifted up the flap of the entrance of the tent. She blushed, and hesitantly followed.

They started to run to the edge of the forest. Within a few moments, they found Neal and Midahn fighting a large wolf-looking creature. It lunged at Neal, who swiftly jumped back, avoiding its fangs. He turned for a quick moment.

"Oh hey there, sleepyhead. Glad to see ya up and running." Neal said. Sevrin shook his fist at him.

"You…" He started to say, gritting his teeth. Midahn casted a fire spell and faced them.

"There's no time for that! Help us!" He said, and turned back to the monster. Sevrin and Mirabelle leapt into their usual battle formation, with Neal and Sevrin taking up the front outside of their line, and Mirabelle and Midahn in the center, but behind.

"So we can use some info on this thing." Neal said, preparing to guard his friends from its vicious attack.

"Okay!" Mirabelle said, pointing her staff at the beast. "_Libra!"_ Wind whirred from the monster back toward her staff. Her eyes widened.

"It seems to have not… been discovered yet!" She said. The others tilted their heads.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neal asked.

"I didn't capture what they are called…" She said, squinting her eyes at the monster.

"Well did you get anything else?" Sevrin asked impatiently. She nodded.

"It has strong, vicious fangs, that if made contact with, you will be… infected by a deadly _toxin_?!" She exclaimed, shocked. The others gasped.

"Shit! It came _so_ close to nipping me just earlier!" Neal said, starting to shiver.

"Th-That's not all…" Mirabelle said, now sounding disturbed and scared.

"Wh-what do you...mean?" Midahn asked, completely terrified.

"When it gets…agitated… it will release the poison into the air from its...breath!" She gasped. Neal gritted his teeth and turned back to the monster.

"Alright, just don't let it get close to you, or it's poison might reach you! We can probably avoid it from a distance!" Neal said.

"Then that makes us useless, then…" Sevrin said.

"That's what magic is for!" Midahn pointed out. He casted another fire spell toward the monster, but it easily avoided the small flames.

"Damn! That didn't work. Try another!" Neal told him. Midahn raised his staff again.

"Alright then! _Thunder_!" Sparks emitted from the staff. The lightning was much faster this time, and actually hit the monster.

"You got it!" Neal shouted. But the beast just started growling, and hunched forward, as if preparing to lunge at its prey. They slowly started to back away.

"Uh, I think it's getting 'agitated' now, don't you think…?" Sevrin said, beginning to sweat as he inched away from the snarling wolf.

"Look out for its poison breath." Neal said, keeping his focus onto it. Suddenly, it leapt with high speed toward Midahn.

"Watch out, Midahn!" Sevrin shouted, reaching his hand out to him.

"Midahn!" Neal and Mirabelle said.

It began breathing out its toxic fumes, at almost point blank range. At just that instant, Midahn said, "_Blizzard!"_ and ice formed in front of him. The air in front of him became icy. Tons of tiny ice particles solidified and fell to the ground, only inches from his face. The others could only watch, mouths agape, as it had happened so fast.

"He...he _froze_ the poisonous gas so it wouldn't reach him…" Mirabelle said in disbelief.

"That was...amazing Midahn!" Sevrin said in shock. Midahn began to breathe heavily. They rushed over to him.

"Are you okay, Midahn?!" Mirabelle asked.

"The monster is still here you know...!" Neal reminded them, and fended it back with his sword. It wanted to bite one of them, so Neal blocked it by holding his sword out in front of him, and pushing it back. Its fangs made contact with the steel of his blade. A purple haze of smoke surrounded the blade, and rushed into the metal. His sword began to glow, and the trim of the hilt of the sword began to start pulsing with acidic green light.

"What the…?" Neal said, examining his blade. The wolf suddenly stopped being aggressive. It was staring at Neal. He looked up, noticing that it stopped attacking.

"What happened?" He wondered. The beast looked back and forth between the blade and Neal, examining them both. After a moment of silent thought, it nodded its head, turned around, and dashed off into the night. It was never seen again.

"Your sword…" Sevrin said.

"It's glowing!" Midahn said, eyes wide, admiring the bright green shimmer.

"Your sword absorbed its attack?" Sevrin said. Neal scratched his head.

"Yeah, I guess so…" He replied. Mirabelle peered at the light closely, but then looked up at the bottom of the blade part.

"Hey, look at this." She said, pointing to an inscription. There were some strange symbols etched eloquently into the blade.

"Huh? Those weren't there before…" Neal said, confused.

"Neal." Mirabelle said. He turned to her. "Uh, what?"

"What you're holding, is a...magic weapon." She told him. The others gasped.

"Eh?" Neal said, still confused. "This thing is _magical_? It's never been like this before…"

"Do you understand what that wolf did?" She asked him.

"No, probably because I was busy defending us from its freaky attack!" He said stubbornly.

"Listen. When it tried to sink its teeth into you, and you blocked it with your sword, the power of its poison began seeping into the blade. It automatically absorbed its power. You have an ancient elemental sword, Neal!" She said excitedly.

"Uh...cool, I guess?" He stammered. She became a little irritated now.

"Don't you see, you idiot?! Your sword contains the element of poison now! All your attacks will inflict poison damage as well!" She said. His eyes widened.

"Woah! That's insane! Yes!" He raised his sword high.

"How do you know?" Sevrin asked her.

"I've heard stories about those. They are hundreds of years old, these ancient weapons. They were designed to absorb a powerful magic type, and then become that type of weapon through the element! It's strange, though. I've only heard of these ancient weapons to be staffs, for magic users to exponentially amplify that type of element through the staff. But yours is a _sword…_" She said, deep in thought.

Neal and Sevrin looked at each other. "An ancient sword from our ancestors long ago, placed inside the stone to test the new generations…" They said at the same time.

"I see now." Sevrin said. Neal nodded.

Morning came. They quickly packed up and continued their venture to Elstonia. Sevrin's navigation was right. They reached the village in no time. It was still morning, and the villagers were in the midst of their daily chores.

"This place is...interesting." Sevrin said, looking around at the shabby structures and poorly dressed people around him.

"Who would stash a Crystal here?" Neal wondered.

"Don't be so rude, you two!" Mirabelle scolded. "This is the village of Elstonia. Don't think of it in any other way."

"Sorry." Neal said, hanging his head.

"That's better. Now where would we go from here?" Mirabelle said, examining her surroundings.

"Well, we were told that there's a secret in this place, and that there's a 'hidden empire'. Think about what we've discovered about mountains so far…" Sevrin told them. Neal peered at the entrance to a giant canyon just on the other side of the village.

"There are always secrets within them…" Neal answered.

"Let's go." Sevrin said. They began walking, but Mirabelle grabbed them both by the back of their collars, stopping them.

"Um...Hold it!" She said sarcastically. "What good does charging right to it with little information or a strategy?" She asked. Neal turned his head sheepishly.

"Well, its uh… kinda my philosophy." He said, shrugging. She sighed.

"We should first find out any information from the villagers that we can, then form a plan." She scoffed. "Geez, you guys are so brainless…"

"Hmph. She has a point. I guess I was just being too impatient." Sevrin said.

"Hello!" Mirabelle said, stopping one of the villagers who was walking by.

"Good morning. Travelers, I presume? What brings you here to Elstonia?" He replied, sounding very light hearted and friendly.

"We've come in search of the hidden empire!" She said excitedly. "Do you know anything about it?" He scowled when she said that, and turned away.

"Hmph. I don't know _anything_ about that place." He said coldly, and walked off.

"What's his deal?" Neal wondered, and they moved on to other villagers nearby. They asked thing the same thing.

"I have _nothing _to do with that dreadful kingdom!" They would say in the same tone as the man before.

"Would you mind telling us why everyone in the village hates the kingdom? We've never been here before…" Mirabelle said in an innocent voice.

"That castle, deep inside the canyon just beyond here is full of evil people. We all used to reside in the kingdom, the people of our village. But the Council, the people who rule and govern the kingdom, are selfish, harsh, and inconsiderate. The kingdom is still fairly new, as it is still being expanded and constructed underground to this day. They treated us as...slaves. We would constantly work down there for hours and hours on end, seven days a week, mining, and building. If we tried to resist them, they would punish us severely. That's why...we decided to escape from that volatile place, and start a new life here!" He said disdainfully. He raised his arms out, indicating the people of the village.

"But, have they not tried to bring you all back...down?" Mirabelle asked hesitantly. "There are quite a few people here that have escaped."

"We haven't seen anyone or anything emerge from that place since we left. That was over a year ago… And if anyone tries to force us back, we'll fight them back!" He said, raising a fist toward the canyon.

Neal gritted his teeth. "Those...bastards…" He said angrily. He turned to his friends. "Let's go down there and knock some sense into 'em!"

The villager shook his head gravely. "That wouldn't do you much good. The number of people you see here are only a speck of the population in the real Elstonia. You'll be outnumbered and sent into a jail cell. That was the unfortunate fate of many who tried to escape before our major rebellion. It seems that they no longer needed all of the labor work, as they had stopped jailing escapees. That was when our opportunity struck."

"Hmm… What were they planning then?" Sevrin asked. "That sounds suspicious."

"I don't know, but we still have to go down there! Not just for the sake of the Crystal!" Neal said.

"I agree. Who knows what's down there now… It could be something evil. They could be plotting something big, if they've been quiet for this long…" Sevrin said, looking toward the canyon suspiciously.

They thanked the villager, and began to head for the canyon. He still advised against it, but told them of a hidden entrance that the escapees used to escape that they could use to slip inside undetected.

"It's somewhere around here, right?" Midahn said. They were told to look for a strange rock that stands out more than the others near the western side of the canyon. The rock looked like the sun.

"He said the rock that they carved is supposed to be the sun, representing their freedom to see the light again. So look for that." Sevrin said.

"There it is." Neal pointed to one of the many rocks in the distance. They peered over in the direction he was pointing.

"That's… a _moon_-shaped rock, Neal." Mirabelle said, and started to turn away and continue searching, but stopped. "Wait. It's not the sun-shaped rock, but its still stands out, right?" She said. "We should at least investigate it…"

"Okay." Neal shrugged. They headed over to it. Neal began to look all around it, searching for any secrets to an entrance.

"Uh...there's nothing here…?" He said, stumped. Sevrin tilted his head.

"Wait, what's...that?" He pointed to the bottom of the rock, where an almost perfectly round pebble rested. Neal bent down on his knees, and reached for the pebble. He picked it up from its spot on the moon rock.

"Did that do anything?" He thought. A few moments passed. Nothing happened. Suddenly the ground around them started shaking.

"Ah! Put it back! Put it back!" Midahn screamed, waving his hands in dismay. Neal scrambled toward the spot for the pebble, but couldn't place it back in because of the shaking. The ground then collapsed underneath them. They screamed as they fell into a dark hole. They finally crashed into a pile of dusty pile of hay at the bottom. They sat up, and recovered from their unexpected fall. They started to check their surroundings, to see what kind of situation they were now in. But it was very dark.

"Man, that hurt… But where the hell are we? Is this part of the underground kingdom? From what I see, it looks like a dump…" Neal said, scratching his head.

"Over here." Sevrin said, beckoning them to where he was. "I know what we're in."

"A...jail cell?!" Neal said in shock when he approached Sevrin. Sevrin was standing next to rusty iron bars.

"Is this where the rebels used to be jailed?" Mirabelle wondered.

"Who knows? We don't really know much about this place, aside from the info that the villager gave us…" Sevrin said meekly. It was extremely quiet. They don't hear a single sound besides their voices. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Ha! This jail cell is ancient history! Look how rusty it is! It'll bust right open!" Neal exclaimed, and raised his leg. He then kicked it with mighty force, and the bars split and fell apart in front of them, sending dust flying. They coughed a bit from the clouds that had formed.

"Ew." Mirabelle said, covering her eyes and coughing. "This is _really_ old… I thought the Elstonian kingdom was recently built?"

"Whatever. Let's go check this place out!" Neal said, and stepped over the broken bars.

They started heading down a dimly lit corridor. Their steps echoed across the eerily silent cavern path. The atmosphere was very...musty.

"It's so hard to see, but from what I do, this place is gross and dusty." Neal said, waving his arm in front of him to clear the thick, dusty air throughout the corridor.

They were guided by the green glow of Neal's sword. He discovered that if he actually gripped the sword, and focused intensively, he could sustain the light of the newly acquired magic power held inside of it. Sevrin squinted ahead, waiting until they would eventually find the end of the narrow path.

"Hey. I see something!" He said, after many minutes of walking in constant darkness.

"What is it?" Midahn asked.

"A door. But it looks...nice." Sevrin noted.

"Well I'm glad you have an eye for good-looking doors, buddy." Neal said jokingly, and bumped him with his elbow.

"No, I'm saying it's a _nice _door." Sevrin replied, putting more emphasis on 'nice'. "It doesn't fit in with the old junky stuff like form before." Neal realized what he meant.

"Oh! So maybe this is where the actual kingdom starts?" He thought. They reached the door, and stopped. Sevrin carefully put his ear to the door, listening for anything from the other side. After about a minute of silence, he nodded.

"Okay, I didn't hear a single thing. I don't think anyone's in there." He confirmed. He slowly started to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn, it's locked…" He said, disappointed.

Neal raised his leg again, preparing to bust it down with a kick again, but they stopped him in his tracks. "What are you, crazy?" Mirabelle whispered frantically. There could still be who knows what beyond that door!"

"We'll never know if we don't get inside!" Neal countered.

"The kingdom's hidden underground. If they don't really want many people getting in, they probably would make it really difficult to do so. The door is probably very thick. You couldn't break it down." She pointed out. Neal pulled his leg back a bit.

"You wanna see me try?" He asked. Before she could answer, they heard a click. They turned towards the door, and Sevrin slipped some thin, metal tools into his pocket.

"Since when did you learn how to pick locks?" Neal questioned. Sevrin looked away.

"Um... don't worry about it." He said sheepishly, and slowly opened the door. They each leaned inside quietly to check if it was safe before entering. They found themselves in a cleaner room, with a wooden table, chairs, and a candle in the center.

"What's _this_ place?" Neal wondered, looking around the room. It definitely looked newer than the old cell they fell into. Just then, they started to hear footsteps and muffled voices approaching.

"Shit!" Neal whispered, and frantically searched around for a spot to hide in. Sevrin swiftly but quietly closed the door and locked it. They scuttled over to a dark corner in the room, where the tiny candle light didn't reach. The door opened. Two large men stepped in. It seemed that they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Gah, this post is _awful_." One said, shaking his head. "This is the _farthest_ area from the castle, and we're here stuck guarding it for hours for nothing…"

"You know, I feel like I might go insane if I have to keep sitting in this god-forsaken room each day. It's so creepy and dark." The other added. Neal's heart was pounding from the corner they were huddled up at. He was sweating from the apprehension of being found. Midahn was even worse. He was drenched in sweat, and extremely scared. Sevrin felt bad for Midahn having to experience this at such a young age. He knew that Midahn understood the situation that they were in could possibly life-threatening.

_Damn. How are we going to get through these guys? Could we jump them, and quickly take them out? Or should we wait?_ Neal thought, wracking his brain for a plan. Mirabelle slowly grabbed his arm. He could feel Sevrin grab hers and Midahn grab Sevrin's. He quickly understood that they did that to make sure they know where each other are, since they couldn't see each other at all, and that if someone decided to take action, they would all be ready to go at the same time.

_It looks like I'm the one who will decide if we do anything. I'm in the front. This is so pressuring… _Neal thought, shaking with nervousness.

_Don't make any noise. Don't make any noise. Don't make any noise. _Mirabelle chanted in her head. Her eyes were closed, and she was trying to stay calm.

"You know, I actually wouldn't mind if something happened around here. It's so boring…" One of the men said.

_Oh, he's just asking for it! This is it… We'll take 'em out by surprise._ Neal thought. He tensed his body, so Mirabelle would feel that he's going to surprise them. She tapped his back, acknowledging it.

"Well then here we are!" He shouted, and jumped out from their hiding spot. The two men screamed and fell out of their chairs, they were scared so bad. Neal landed one of them and punched him clean in the nose. The sudden fear from the surprise plus Neal's attack knocked him unconscious. Sevrin immediately tackled the other one and forced his hand onto a pressure point by the man's neck, putting him right to sleep as well.

"Whew. That was crazy!" Neal said, breathing heavily and wiping his forehead. He was still shaky.

"Let's start going to where they came from." Sevrin said. "They said this is the farthest away from the castle, so that means it must be that way." He pointed down through a stone hallway. They started to go along the path. It was well lit by torch light, so they had to stay extra cautious to not be spotted.

"We don't know how big this place is, so we won't know how far we have to go to get to the castle. It could be an hour or a minute away." Neal said, staying on his guard in the front of the group.

"What'll we do if someone sees us?" Mirabelle asked. Midahn was clutching her arm nervously as they snuck through the hallway.

"If we have to fight them, we will." Neal said seriously. Mirabelle gulped.

"And if we did that, we would have to take them out before they could alert anyone else." Sevrin reminded them. "From what we've heard, these people are pretty rough and edgy."

"W-why did we come here in the first place?" Midahn whined.

"Well, the Crystal of Water was stolen by someone, so they probably know about the kind of power it contains. This Crystal inside the castle is the closest to the Water Crystal, so the thief might try to nab it soon, if not already." Neal said.

"But after what the villagers said, we have even more of a reason to come here. The people who hold the Crystal here _themselves_ could be up to no good. Usually, the people who reside by a Crystal protect it. These people might try to use it for something evil." Sevrin added.

"This would be so much easier if we didn't have to sneak around and avoid being spotted here…" Mirabelle said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Neal said. Suddenly, they heard a door open. Neal quickly pulled everyone into a room on the side. About every fifteen feet, there were doors on each side of the hallway.

They found themselves in a bedroom. It was more like a barrack than a plain room.

"A guard's room?" Neal whispered. Sevrin nodded. They waited for the footsteps to pass, then re-entered the hallway.

"If this is the guards' barracks, then we shouldn't be too far away." Sevrin whispered. "They can't be stationed far away from the main castle, or they wouldn't be able to make a quick report if something were to happen."

Eventually, they successfully entered the main castle. Fortunately, the side of the large underground network they had entered, the western side, was the best to be able to sneak into. The vast majority of people were working hard on the eastern side, expanding the underground caverns for more underground structures. Unfortunately, there were still guards patrolling around the western wing. Overhearing a few guards, they discovered that the main reason for all of the digging is to actually..._locate_ the Crystal of Earth.

"So this _whole_ time, they didn't find it?" Neal wondered. They had passed through the castle undetected, and started to head towards the mines.

"It makes sense why they are digging for it, but what bothers me is why that Council or whatever didn't do anything about the villagers who escaped. The numbers don't matter. They still lost valuable labor…" Sevrin said, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"Yeah… and they _still_ haven't found it to this day. Something is definitely up." Mirabelle agreed.

"The villager said that there were a lot more people who live down here than in the village. And since we didn't see that many back there, they're probably _here_." Neal warned. "We might have some trouble getting by this time around."

As they kept going through one of the many deep caverns that have been dug for years, they soon discovered a huge cave, with multiple levels, where all of the people who they didn't see earlier were. They cautiously leaned into the room to get a better look. Inside the massive cave, A huge section of rock in the center was not mined through. The cave's shape was a ring around this large column. Around the column were spiral manmade stairs winding all the way from the bottom to the top. An enormous line of people were ascending the stairs, perfectly in sync with each other. Each leaned a picaxe over their right shoulder, and matched each other perfectly, step by step, as they all headed for the top of the column.

"What the hell is this? Some kind of army training?" Neal whispered upon inspection of the odd sight. Just then, they heard a small group of people approaching. They quickly returned to the shadows of the cavern path they walked through. A group of about ten people began to pass by them. One of them was a short man, wearing an all-black outfit. He had sharp green eyes, and short black hair, and a sharp goatee. The other nine walking with him wore the same light blue robes.

"Ah, just look at this beauty. We are nearing completion, my friends. Very soon, We will uncover that Crystal. And when we do, we will achieve greater power than we have ever seen before." The man said. They had passed by the small cave that Neal and the others were hiding in, but they could still hear their conversation for a little longer before they walked out of range.

"But, Lord Clyde, how do we know what elevation the Crystal is in that column? It could be _anywhere_…" One of the blue robed persons said.

"I told you. I had the vision, and was told it was located in that exact area. It isn't narrowed down to the exact spot, but I'm indeed grateful for it. It has shortened the amount of time before I achieve ultimate power greatly…" They heard, but it was fading away. They waited for a few more minutes before checking back into the massive site.

"Okay, looks clear." Sevrin said, looking left and right. Mirabelle sighed.

"Um… did you fail to notice all of those people by that giant _column_?" She asked.

"There's something weird about that, guys." Neal said, looking more closely at the group of miners ascending the rock. "They seem a little..._too _perfectly in sync. Don't ya think? We've been for quite a few minutes now, and each step they take is _exactly_ at the same time. That's impossible..." He said in disbelief.

"You have a point there. But I don't think they'd be able to see us from down here. Plus that thing is pretty far away, so they wouldn't hear us either." Sevrin said.

"But where are we going?" Midahn asked him. He searched around the other areas of the cave for any places they would find to be worth checking out.

"Well, it seems like that guy they called 'Lord Clyde' knows that it's somewhere inside that last chunk of rock in the center." Sevrin said.

"Hey, do ya think that those guys were the Council of Elstonia that the villager was talking about?" Neal said. "All of the lower members were wearing identical robes, just like the Council of Alryne." He noticed.

"It probably was!" Mirabelle realized. "We should follow them! See where they're going and hopefully find out what they're up to."

"Alright, let's go." Sevrin nodded, and began walking the way that the Council was headed. Neal looked at the large group of miners that were in perfect sync suspiciously again.

"Something...something just feels off about that." Neal said, shaking his head. "It's giving me some _weird_ vibes. And how come they are just _doing_ _that?_"

"What are you talking about?" Mirabelle asked him.

"Well didn't the villagers up on the surface escape because they hated their lives down here, being treated like slaves and all? Well _that_ looks like what they were describing…" He replied, pointing at the column.

"That thought never struck my mind…" Mirabelle said, and starting to think deeply. "How come these people are calmly doing the labor work like that? No one of higher authority is here watching them to catch anyone trying to escape or not work… They're just..._doing _it all on their own."

"It couldn't be by their own free will…" Neal decided, shaking his head still. "I would _hate_ having to work like a dog like that everyday." Midahn gasped, and his eyes widened.

"What is it, Midahn?" Sevrin asked, looking around to see if they had just been spotted.

"I think I know why they're like this…" He said. The other three leaned in.

"What is it?" They asked. He hung his head. "It-It's..._that_ magic…"

"That...magic? What kind of magic are you talking about?" Mirabelle asked. He jolted back up with hope.

"Wait! We need to see their eyes! Can anyone see their eyes from here?" He asked hopefully.

"Uhh… It's too far away to tell." Sevrin said, squinting toward the miners in the distance.

"If...their eyes have turned black, then they are under a spell. A dark spell…" Midahn said worriedly.

"Dark?" Neal wondered.

"It's called Illusionary Magic." Midahn said. "An evil, forbidden magic that places the victim in a visual or mind controlling trap. You can control someone or make it look like something is there or happening when it really _isn't_." The others took in those words with uncertainty.

"Is that even possible?" Neal thought. Midahn nodded.

"How do you know about this?" Mirabelle asked him. He hung his head, and hesitated for a few moments.

"It's because… I'm _good_ at it." He said. The others gasped, and took a step back from him.

"Huh?" Mirabelle said, completely shocked at these unexpected words from the young, cheerful boy.

"When I was really small, I was taken in by someone in my guild, Mayweather. He took care of me since my family died. I had no idea who he was. I don't even remember his _name_. He was always playing these weird mind tricks on me. But he taught me this magic. Since I was really young, I didn't know anything about it. One thing I do remember, is that I didn't like it at _all._" Midahn said. He recalled a time in his past, where he was laying down in a field one sunny day, extremely bored. There was a wild cat playing around nearby him. He started to twirl his finger around in circles. The cat suddenly began running in circles, chasing after a ball of yarn that just appeared rolling around. Naturally, it was the Illusion that Midahn casted on it…

"It made my stomach churn whenever I used it. It just didn't feel right. So that's why I decided to stop using it permanently and learn black magic like my family did. And that man… he disappeared one day. I asked people about it, and they told me they've never heard of him…" Midahn finished.

"That's...creepy." Neal said. He immediately raised his hand. "That weird guy." He wanted to be clear that he was calling the old man creepy, not Midahn.

"I'm glad you decided to not use that evil magic, Midahn." Mirabelle said.

"Hey, uh… Is _this_ what you meant by black eyes?" Sevrin asked them. They quickly turned toward Sevrin. He was pointing at a person standing a few feet away from them, silently watching them. His sudden presence startled Mirabelle. She covered her mouth and let out a tiny scream.

"Wha...when did _he_ show up behind us like that?!" She said frantically. The man had completely darkened eyes. Not even the pupil could be distinguished. Midahn pointed at him.

"Yeah, that's it! He's under someone's..._control!_" Midahn realized. Neal turned to the rest of the marching miners up on the column.

"So someone's controlling these people to do the labor work without any resistance. So _that's_ why they didn't care when the villagers had escaped a year ago…" Sevrin said. Neal turned back to the man that stood before them.

"Uh...hey? How's it...going?" Neal awkwardly asked him. He didn't know how the man would react. Suddenly, he took a step toward them. His facial expression was unchanged the whole time, just a blank stare.

Neal took a step back and reached for the hilt of his sword on his back. The hilt began glowing green. "Hey… watch it, pal. Don't come any closer…" He warned.

The controlled man took another slow step toward them. Neal gritted his teeth, and drew his sword. "Don't take another step. I work in 'three's'. Once, is just a warning. Twice, I won't ask again. But Three times, and I'm done." He said coldly. The man took a third step. Neal raised his sword to cut him down, but Mirabelle grabbed his arm.

"Stop! That's a normal person! He's just under a spell, Neal. Don't kill him!" She said, holding him back. Neal wanted to strike, seeing him as a threat, but he listened to her reasoning. He lowered the sword. But he stepped in front of Mirabelle protectively.

"But if you try to attack her, or any of us, I'll knock you flat." Neal told him.

"It's useless trying to talk to him, Neal! He isn't listening since he's under the spell!" Midahn told him. The man took another step toward Neal and Mirabelle. Neal looked to his left, and noticed some large, empty barrels nearby. He pushed the man over to a barrel and shoved him in carefully. The man's arms and legs were sticking out of the barrel, so he was stuck.

Neal looked back at the man painfully. "Ouch, he's gonna feel _that_ when he wakes up. I feel sorry for the guy. But he won't come after us now. And he'll be fine."

"Come on, we need to catch up to the Council!" Sevrin reminded them. They quickly started to follow the path the Council members and the mysterious man named Clyde took.

Back in Elstonia Castle, in one of the towers, a man was sitting calmly and focusing with his eyes closed, not moving an inch. Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

"What's this? I felt a disturbance in my control over them just now…"

Neal and the others didn't realize it, from being underground the whole time, but it was well into the night outside. While the Warriors were tracing the Council's path, they heard a large growling noise.

"Agh…" Neal grumbled, clutching his stomach. "I haven't eaten anything since this _morning_. I'm starving…"

The man in the tower began to descend to the castle's first floor. He wanted to see what happened down in the mines that caused his perfect sync of slaves to falter. As he turned a corner toward the mine entrance, he bumped into a large man, wearing all black, spiky armor, like the midnight sky.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! I realized this chapter is the longest one yet! I wanted to be more descriptive of the underground castle and caves, since it's an entirely new area in the story. Also, If you didn't notice already, I changed the cover image. I made it myself! Keep this in mind if you look at it: I'm not an artist xD. I _wish_ I was though. I enjoy drawing, and want to get better at it. The picture is a rough black and white of Neal, Mirabelle, Sevrin, and Midahn. It's not what I want the cover image to be, but it's something... I penciled and inked it, and scanned it to Illustrator for touch ups. It's a bit sloppy, but I want you to see what I think the characters look like. If you look at it, can you guess who is who? Well, this chapter sets up for an epic encounter between the Warriors and... Samael for the first time?! Their battle is coming next week. If you want to see the cover image in high quality, check this out: www*imagesup*net/?di=6141257422913 ({Change the * to .})


	16. Into Raging Seas!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen - Into Raging Seas!**

The man in dark armor grabbed him by his throat and slammed him into the wall. He didn't expect that he would encounter the Illusionist this soon. But he decided to take this as an opportunity.

"Ack…!" The dark mage struggled to free himself from the man's grasp. He was beginning to suffocate.

"You. Tell me where he is." The man demanded.

"Wh-" He started to say, but coughed and gasped for air. "Who?" He croaked. He had to think fast. He quickly formed a plan in his head to slyly cast a spell onto the man to make him think that he gave him an answer, which will hopefully satisfy him so he would let him go. He slowly opened the palm of his hand.

"Hah. You think you can fool me? I know what you are." The man in armor laughed. the Illusionist began to sweat. He was smarter than he thought.

"That man, Clyde. Your king." He said. The mage didn't respond. He raised his other hand, and the underground floor began to shake. His deadly glare struck fear into the dark mage.

"Okay, okay! He is near the end of the mine past this corridor." He told him, waving his hands in surrender.

"So he is close to finding it, then." The man said. he thought for a moment, then slammed the Illusionist into the ground, stunning him, and starting walking toward the mine.

Meanwhile, deep inside the mines:

"Woah." The four Warriors stopped, and turned toward the cave path that they came from earlier.

"Did you feel that?" Neal asked them.

"Yeah. It felt like a sort of tremor." Sevrin said. Neal began to nervously look around him and up at the ceiling.

"This place won't….you know… collapse, will it?" He thought.

"Don't say something like that!" Mirabelle said, covering her eyes and ears. The thought of being swallowed up by the earth was not appealing to her.

"Eh...heh...sorry." Neal said, scratching his head. "But that kinda made me a little nervous."

Soon enough, they found themselves in a dark corridor, with walls and an actual floor. They entered this mysterious room, and couldn't figure out where the Council and Clyde had went. They could see the end of the room, and there were no other doors or paths to take from there...

"And just who might you be?" A knife appeared by Sevrin's neck. A tall man, who hid himself in the shadows, quickly took him by surprise. Sevrin stiffened up.

"Uh…" Neal started to say. He couldn't see the man's face, but he looked up in his general direction. "You're holding that knife at the _wrong_ guy, pal." He told him, holding back a laugh. The man was confused, and looked down at the boy who he was holding up. But it was too late. Sevrin swiftly knocked his hold on him away with the back of his hand, then immediately elbowed it downwards, knocking the knife right out of his grip. He then jumped up and spun around, kicking him right across the face. The man sprawled over after crashing onto the floor. His vision became blurry, but he could see four children standing over him. The one who just spoke to him held a large sword, which was pulsing with green light at the hilt, at his throat.

"Now who the hell might _you_ be?" Neal asked him, but his conscious was fading away. Sevrin's powerful kick had turned off his lights. He passed out.

"Damn. Oh well. I thought we could get something out of him." Neal said, and shrugged.

"Where did they go?" Sevrin wondered. He looked around the dark, empty room. There were indeed no more places to go except where they came in from.

"There has to be some kind of secret within these walls, then." Mirabelle said, placing her hand on one of the walls and started feeling around. "That guy must have been the guard for this room."

"Are you sure?" Midahn asked. He didn't see anything peculiar in the room at all.

"Yes. Everyone take a wall." She told them. They each started checking the walls, looking for anything that might trigger an opening. After a few minutes, they still didn't find any clues.

"Wait. Maybe the guy has a key on him, or something!" Neal said. They turned toward the man on the floor, but he was gone. Neal instantly reached for his sword.

Mirabelle and Midahn quickly ran in between Neal and Sevrin, who were looking in opposite directions of the room. They took the remaining two sides, giving them eyes on all four corners of the room.

"Where'd that sneaky bastard go? I didn't even hear 'im!" Neal exclaimed.

"Don't let your guard down for a second. I didn't hear that door open, so he's still _in_ here." Sevrin said cautiously.

_Who would he attack? He wouldn't go for Sevrin again… probably not me either._ Neal thought. He could see flames appear from Midahn's hands from the corner of his eye. _Midahn would hit him with fire if he get's close. Then… Mirabelle!_

He quickly shouted as he spun and slashed downward next to Mirabelle. She flinched, as she could feel the wind from his attack, it was so close. But Neal caught him! The man had lunged at Mirabelle from the shadows. Neal cut him down. He fell to the floor once more, lifeless.

"How- How did you know?" Mirabelle asked him, trembling from almost being killed just now.

"I can see how you could figure out that he was going to attack her, since she is a girl, but how did you know he was going to attack right at this moment?" Sevrin asked, amazed. Neal was still staring intensely at the man on the floor.

"Hmm… I just sensed it. I could feel danger rising, and acted quickly, I guess." Neal said.

"I didn't even sense his presence…" Sevrin said. _How could he sense him and not me?_

"No. It wasn't like _your_ way of sensing. You can sense them physically. It was… different than that. It was like… I could feel the threat approaching from _you._" He said, turning to Mirabelle.

"Eh? Me?" She said, eyes wide and pointing at herself. He nodded.

"I felt something weird once I figured out he would probably target you. It felt like a difference in your aura or something. I don't know…" He couldn't really explain it. "All I know is that I understand that that feeling means you're in danger. I won't forget that." And he never did, not even once...

They searched the attacker. They found a strange orb inside his pocket. It fit into the palm of their hands, and it was white.

"What does this do?" Midahn wondered. Sevrin was holding it. Nothing was happening, though. He tossed it over to Neal. He couldn't figure anything out either.

"Let me see this." Mirabelle said. He handed it to her, and as soon as it reached her hand, it started glowing.

"Woah! You did it!" Neal exclaimed, looking at the bright white glow from the orb.

"Did what? Nothing's happening still." She said. The walls remained unchanged. She handed it back to Neal, and the glowing ceased. Then he handed it back to her, and it started glowing again.

"It must be powered by magic, then!" She said. "Neither of you could make it glow, so it's a magical orb, huh…" She looked more closely at the orb. She began focusing her mind, and concentrating more magical energy into the orb. It started glowing a bit brighter. But after a few seconds, she had to release her concentration, and started to pant. It was too much for her.

"It...glows brighter when you put more into...it." She said, breathing hard.

"Hey, don't overdo it." Neal said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You'll tire yourself out."

"Let me try!" Midahn said, getting excited. She remembered that Midahn is a mage as well.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Be careful though, it feels like it drains energy out of you…" She said, and handed him the orb. He studied it for a few moments, and closed his eyes. He then gripped the orb tightly in his right hand, and began focusing magic power into it.

The orb started glow brighter and brighter. It skyrocketed past Mirabelle's attempt. The entire room was lit up by the white light of the orb. Midahn was putting so much power into it, that he was creating wind that was sweeping his red hair back. The orb looked like it was releasing an enormous amount of energy in an instant from the power that Midahn was filling it with. There was a brilliant flash of light, and everyone had to shut their eyes from the intensity. When they opened them, the room was back to normal. Midahn was still holding the orb, but it wasn't glowing anymore.

"What the hell…?" Neal said, completely amazed and shocked. Their eyes were wide open, astonished by what Midahn just produced.

"That was… incredible, Midahn!" Mirabelle said. "You have a ton of magic energy!"

Midahn smiled. "Yeah, by the way, I've gotten a little better at black magic since back then!"

"Yeah, no kidding." Sevrin said. "You can probably cast those next level spells by now, couldn't you?"

"I've been practicing _Fira_ a lot lately." He told them. "It's pretty tough, but I think I've got the hang of it!"

Mirabelle wasn't paying attention to them. She was still thinking about how she couldn't activate the orb from giving it her all, but Midahn could instantly. She felt weak again, and her self confidence felt really low. She forgot that Neal's hand was still on her shoulder.

He noticed how she was feeling, and shook her shoulder a little in a friendly manner. She looked up at him, and he was smiling. He could read her like a book. He didn't say a word; he only shook his head, still smiling. She could tell without words that he means don't let it get to her head, and to keep trying, to eventually become stronger.

She still felt a little down, but Neal always made her feel better, being so encouraging. She knows that he's experienced that a lot before.

Midahn tossed the orb behind him. When it hit the ground, the sound echoed throughout the room, and it started to roll away.

"Wait. Did anything happen?" Sevrin asked. Midahn pointed behind them. They all turned around and saw a doorway that wasn't there before.

"Great!" Neal said, swinging his sword up to rest on his shoulders. "Let's go!"

They entered the secret door. Another stone path was ahead of them.

"Man, how large is this underground place?" Midahn wondered. When they reached the end of the narrow path, they stopped. They could hear muffled voices from the other side of the wall.

"Is that them?" Neal whispered. Sevrin leaned his ear against the wall, listening to their voices. He heard the man, Clyde, from earlier inside. Sevrin nodded.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" He asked. Sevrin closed his eyes. He began to focus on the other side of the wall.

"We wait for Zel. He will tell us when we are nearing its excavation." Clyde said. "He should be on his way."

"Well, what about the binding spell that was placed? Isn't it soon going to-" Someone else started to say, but there was a sudden burst of noise. Sevrin couldn't make out what anyone was saying anymore. There was just yelling and what sounded like fighting.

The others could hear them as well. Neal pulled out his sword.

"What're they doing? Should we bust 'em up?" Neal said impatiently.

"Someone...else entered?" Sevrin wondered. "The Council was saying they were expecting somebody, but it doesn't seem like they expected this commotion…"

"We should go in there and surprise 'em! Pin them down and find out what they're up to if they find that Crystal." Neal said, standing up. Sevrin grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Don't be so hasty. Going in right now could be the _wrong_ time, and we could get ourselves in a bind." He said.

"Well when then?" Neal said, impatient again. "Better now or never, I say!"

There was a small explosion, then the sounds of bodies hitting the floor.

"That intruder sure sounds like he's giving 'em a beating. It might be too late if we don't go in now…" Neal said. Sevrin gritted his teeth, then stood up.

"Fine, but something doesn't feel right about whoever that is…" He said curiously. They ran around the wall to the entrance of the room, and busted down the door. Inside, they saw a large hole in the wall, created by an explosion. Council members were spread out across the floor, beaten down. In the center of the room, a tall man in black, spiky armor was holding Clyde up by his neck.

"You know nothing about the Revival, you little ant. Do you think you know what it takes to bring back his life?" The man in armor said coldly. Clyde was trying to free himself from the man's grasp, but was struggling for air.

"You think it takes just the power of the Crystal down here alone? Such ignorance… It would take not only the power of all _four_ Crystals in the Overworld, but the four Dark Crystals in the Underworld as well, you imbecile!" The man said, and threw him onto the ground. Clyde's eyes widened. He didn't fully comprehend the gravity of what he wanted to do.

The man turned when he saw the four Warriors enter the room. "Hmm?" He looked between Neal, Sevrin, Mirabelle and Midahn. "Children? Get out of here. Stay out of the way." He brushed them off.

"Who do you think you are, huh?" Neal said, gritting his teeth. He dashed toward the man, raising his sword. He tried to slash at him, but the man blocked it with ease using the back of his hand. He struck Neal without using his sword, but still sending him flying back into the other three.

"Neal!" Midahn said. The man looked down at his hand. His armor was starting to melt in the spot that he contacted Neal's blade. Acid was burning through it.

"Tch…! Who are you?" He said, grabbing his wounded hand. a sensation hit him when he looked at Neal again. _This kid…_ The four Warriors were in battle formation, weapons drawn, ready to fight.

_I don't want to have to deal with them again, so I'll just kill them now while I can._ He thought. He headed towards the hole that he blasted through the wall.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?! Who are you and what do you plan to do?!" Neal said angrily. He turned.

"My name… is Samael. And you... you've reached your end." He said. He raised his hand, and the earth began to shake.

"He's casting _Earthquake_! We've gotta get out of here!" Mirabelle said frantically. They all started to make a run for it, except Neal. He and Samael's eyes were still locked. Neal was glaring coldly at him.

_There's something...odd about this guy…_ He thought.

_Is he the one…? _Samael thought. Mirabelle broke Neal's trance by grabbing him.

"Come on, Neal! We'll get crushed if we don't hurry!" She shouted, and started to pull him towards the door.

They started running back through the tunnel. But it looked different than before. The path was slightly altered, and it branched off somewhere they hadn't been before. They found themselves at a dead end, blocked off by a huge wall of thick ice.

"Wha...when did this get here?!" Mirabelle said. She began to shiver. "No wonder it was so chilly down here, more than it would seem."

"How can we get past it?" Sevrin wondered. "We're running out of time!"

"Midahn! Use your new fire spell on it! That oughta melt it!" Neal said. Midahn's eyes widened.

"Yeah! This is the perfect time to try it!" He said. He focused extremely hard on the icy wall that stood before him. But it reminded him of their fight with Tundris, and how his fire didn't even affect the demon.

_No… don't get distracted. Those flames were weak then. They're...much stronger now! _Midahn thought.

"_Fira_!" He shouted, and a brilliant flame bursted from his staff. It's magnitude was at a much higher level than his basic fire spell. The ice melted instantly, causing the water to flood a few inches in the cave.

"You did it!" Mirabelle cheered. Neal emerged from the flowing water. He was knocked over from how fast Midahn melted the ice, submerging him into the large waterfall. Neal shook his hair.

"Hah! That was awesome! Nice job, Midahn!" He gave him a thumbs up. The moonlight shone through the now open cave. They could see outside that the opening they created revealed the deepest part of the canyon.

"Ah man…" Neal said, rubbing his temples. "This is making my _head _hurt!" Mirabelle ran over to him.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" She asked, worried. He shook his head.

"No. It's just… are we underground or not?!" He asked, completely confused. She was as well.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"We've been underground this entire time, but now we can see outside! It doesn't make any sense!" He said.

"Are you dumb, or something?" She asked, shaking her head. "Look." She pointed outside. "This is the bottom of the canyon. That's the real surface up there." She pointed up at the top of the rocky land around them.

"Huh? You mean those aren't mountains?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Oh, so we _are_ underground then. Okay then." He started to walk outside. Mirabelle facepalmed.

"Wait! What about the Crystal?!" Sevrin reminded them. Neal remembered, and turned back around. But the cave that they were running from was tunneled in. They barely made it out in time.

"It felt like the entire underground caved in back there. I don't think anyone..._survived._" Mirabelle said, looking down at the ground. "All of those poor people…"

"But at least that Samael didn't get his hands on the Crystal either!" Midahn said cheerfully. Neal's and Sevrin's eyes widened.

"That's right! That was...Samael down there?!" Neal said in shock. "He's from-"

"Our village." Sevrin finished. "He's the one who went missing those years back. So he became _evil_…"

"I was so focused that I didn't even realize it was him when we were still in there." Neal said. "What's his purpose for all this, then? What does he want with the Crystals?"

"He said he wanted to revive...'him'. Who is 'he'?" Sevrin thought. "And he also said that it would take not only all four earthland Crystals, but the four 'Dark Crystals' as well…"

"That seems like an awful lot of power, if he obtains all of them…" Mirabelle said. "I don't even think _we_ would be able to comprehend the gravity of that."

"Alright." Neal said, getting serious. He balled his hand into a fist. "Our goal is to stop him. This must be what the legend says. The 'true evil' that we must prevent from the destruction of our world, right?" He jabbed his sword into the ground. "This has got to be the worldly threat, if he's going to use all of the Crystals for his own doing, dontcha think? This is our true mission!"

"So we're going to have to fight this Samael, huh… He looked pretty tough. He casted _Earthquake_ with just one hand." She said, sounding a little scared.

"Who cares? I'm gonna _pound_ him for making my village look bad." Neal said coldly, slamming his fists together.

Just then, a group of old men, wearing black robes, approached the Warriors. They turned around.

"At last, we have found you…" The man in the middle said.

"Who are you?" Sevrin asked.

"We are the priests of Mystia. We have been searching for you for a while, to seek your aid." He replied.

"Us?" Neal asked.

"Yes, the Warriors of the Light. You are who they say, am I correct?" The priest asked.

"Yeah, but who are _they?_ People know about who we are?" Neal questioned.

"Oh… we've heard many things about you all! Your battles with fearsome monsters, and slaying Tundris, one of the Three Demons. Your stories have spread quite far throughout the land." The priest told him.

"There are... _two more_ of those...demons?" Midahn thought, sounding frightened.

"Well, what is it that you need our help with, priest?" Sevrin asked.

"My name is Fusoya. We are from Mystia. I'm sure you've heard of the man, Samael, who plots to use the Crystals of Light and Dark for his own evil doing." Fusoya said.

"Yeah, matter of fact we just ran into him down there…" Neal said, pointing his thumb behind him at the caved in entrance.

"What?! You lived…? That man is a menace! It's remarkable that you four have survived." Fusoya said, shocked and relieved. The Warriors were confused though.

"Samael has killed hundreds of people to get the Water Crystal." He told them. Their eyes grew wide.

"Are you serious?!" Neal said. He couldn't believe how far that Samael would go for that.

"You may have foiled his plan to get the Crystal of Earth tonight, but he'll come back soon enough, if he escaped this colossal disaster, that is." Fusoya said.

"Colossal disaster…?" Mirabelle asked. He nodded.

"There were massive tremors underground not too long ago. It caused this rocky canyon to practically fall apart. It is impossible to go north from here now. The center of the underground kingdom collapsed down under, so there isn't even the slightest opening or path to go north."

Neal took a step back. "Wait… does that mean we're _stuck_ here?!"

"Not necessarily, young one. The only way off of this rock is by the sea south from here." The priest said.

"That can take us back to the North?" Neal looked up hopefully.

"Yes. And to answer your question, young man," He looked at Sevrin. "We ask of you to stop this man at all costs. Obtaining all eight Crystals could become disastrous to the world as we know it." Fusoya said.

"We just decided that to be our true mission before you showed up!" Neal said confidently, raising his fist.

"But wait. Aren't there nine Crystals? Or at least more than eight?" Mirabelle asked him curiously.

"Ah, indeed young lady. Of course, besides the four Elemental Crystals of the Overworld, and the four Dark Crystals, there is the Crystal of Light, hidden inside Mount Ulhr in the north. But that Crystal is special, and cannot be accessed by anyone, ever." He replied.

The Warriors looked baffled. "Didn't somebody tell us that it would take at least the power of the four Elemental Crystals to get inside that cave?" Neal asked his friends. They nodded. But Fusoya shook his head, and laughed a bit.

"Now, children. I'm sure you or the people who told you that don't know what secrets _that_ Crystal holds. That is a false statement. Nobody could ever enter that cave, no matter how much power they have. Even if the entire mountain itself was somehow destroyed, the cave's barrier will hold strong. It is guarded by the goddess of light herself, Vesta." Fusoya informed them.

_So that's why that freak couldn't harm us with his nature magic when we were on Mount Ulhr a while ago… _Neal realized.

"Then why were we told that we are supposed to someday enter that cave?" Sevrin asked.

"Well, let me rephrase my statement. Nobody can ever enter that cave...except _you_." He said to the four of them. "I'm sure you've heard that before. But it is true. Only the ones chosen by Vesta can enter her cave to receive her blessing." Fusoya said. "Now then, if your questions have all been answered, I think we should head for the sea after the night's rest."

"Okay!" Neal said, and dropped to the ground, asleep. The other three sighed.

"Well, this young man is quite candid, isn't he?" He said, amused. _But he is definitely the one who we truly seek. His power that lies dormant is so tremendously powerful…_ He thought while looking at the sleeping child.

They set up camp with the group of priests, and quickly fell asleep, as it was already quite late in the night. When they awoke the next morning, they began to trek across the southern side of the canyon, heading even further south than they anticipated. Soon enough, they eventually found a way to reach ground level, and could see the Southern Sea from where they surfaced.

"Wow, it's huge!" Midahn said, placing his hand above his eyes, scouting around.

"We have a ship docked by the edge straight from here." One of the priests said. "Although we didn't come from that way, we felt the need to be prepared for anything."

"Good thinking." Sevrin said. "Who would have thought that it would become our only option now?"

They climbed aboard the ship when they reached the shoreline. It was a breezy, cloudy day. The sunlight wasn't too strong, and the wind felt cold. Even when down by the water, they could feel the coldness of winter approaching. The clouds looked thicker ahead in the direction they were going.

After about an hour of sailing, it began to get a bit darker. The thick, gray clouds loomed above them.

"Oh man, I hope we won't hit bad weather…" Neal said, leaning over the railing and studying the gloomy sky above him. Just as he said that, rain drops began to drop. He hung his head.

"I should just stop saying things like that. I said, 'I hope this place doesn't collapse,' and what does it do? Freaking collapses…" He said sarcastically to himself. "And then again just now…" He sighed. The rain started to gradually start pouring, and there was even thunder every few moments.

"Uh…" Midahn said nervously, and began to shiver. He'd been at the very front of the ship the entire time, looking out at the sea in front of them.

"What is it?" Neal asked, after his monologue of bad luck. Midahn shakily pointed out towards the sea. Neal peered in the direction he was pointing, but couldn't see much from all of the rain. But after a few more seconds, a giant, scaly serpent slithered through the water for a brief moment before returning into the water. Neal's eyes grew wide.

"Something tells me that doesn't look friendly, Midahn." Neal said, backing away. Midahn nodded slowly. Neal quickly turned around and headed down below the deck to grab his sword and alert the others...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! The Warriors encountered Samael for the first time! They also decided that their end goal is to stop him! But what terrors from the sea lie ahead? I'm going to give a short description of each of the four characters below, for anyone who isn't really clear about each of the character's personalities and traits, if you want to check it out. I'll be back next week!

Let's take a look at each character more in depth. **Neal**, is currently age 13, the second oldest in the group. He grew up in the village of Alryne. He was very weak and frail when he was younger, and decided to become stronger and prove himself when he met Sevrin. He has brown, spiky hair, swept back to the sides. He is lean but strong, wielding a massive and heavy two-handed sword. He is hard-headed, straightforward, and tough, but also very kind and caring. **Sevrin** is currently age 13, the oldest in the group. He was born in the forest ninja village, Kurina, which neighbors Alryne. When he was younger, he kept failing his tests to become a true ninja, and lacked skills in combat and stealth. He was exiled from Kurina. Then he met Neal, and decided to work harder to prove himself as well. He has jet black, spiky hair, and wears a white headband. He almost always covers his face with a mask, like many ninja. He is a strategist, and finds weak points in enemies. He is cold and tough on the outside, but friendly and carefree on the inside, but never shows it. **Mirabelle**is currently age 13, the second youngest in the group. She was born in the magic town, Magus. She and her best friend, Juliana, were raised together in an orphanage. They discovered the art of black and white magic, and wanted to become black mages themselves. But Mirabelle was naturally born a white mage. She is sweet and kind, but can get mean if you make her mad enough. She has long brown, silky hair. She always thinks down upon herself compared to her friends, thinking of herself as useless and weak, despite being their only healer. **Midahn **is currently age 11, the youngest of the group. He was born into the legendary Aestus family, full of extremely powerful and talented black mages. But they were all mysteriously murdered one night, Midahn being the only survivor while still just a baby. He is a cheerful, red-haired boy who loves being on the adventure with his friends, despite the scary monsters that they encounter. Being the group's only black mage, he has raw, natural talent, proving to be very powerful, despite his younger age.


	17. Eye of the Storm!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen - Eye of the Storm!**

Neal dashed down to the lower deck, leaping over the side of the stairs using the rail. He needed to quickly inform the others what he and Midahn just saw out in the raging waters. Sevrin, Mirabelle, and most of the priests were down below, so they don't know about it yet.

As he was running past each cabin, he suddenly bumped into Mirabelle. There were no one else with her.

"Mira-!" He started to say, but she said something at the same time.

"Neal?" She asked. She was fidgeting with her hands, as if nervously.

"There's…! Wait… What is it?" He asked her. He noticed how she was acting.

"I...uh-" Suddenly, the entire boat lurched to the back, sending her falling towards him. His back hit the wall, but he caught her.

"Wha...What's happening?" She said, now frightened.

"There's something out there in the water!" He said. She ship was rocking violently back and forth, as if there was a vicious storm outside.

"Woah! Hold on!" Neal shouted as they tried to find something to hold on to. When the ship tilted back again, Midahn stumbled into the room. He was breathing heavily.

"I've...I've finally caught up to you, Neal!" He heaved.

"We still need to warn the others! What's happening out there?! I thought it was just that large, scaly thing…" Neal said.

"It _is_! As soon as you came down here, it let out some kind of roar, and this storm appeared out of nowhere!" Midahn told him.

"Tch! Always trouble…" He thought for a moment while the storm kept tilting the boat. They found a narrow hallway that they could lean their backs on one side and press their feet against the other wall to remain in place.

"Alright. Midahn," Neal turned toward him. "Do you think you can make it to the others? They couldn't be far from these passenger rooms. The ship isn't _that_ big." Midahn nodded.

"Yeah. I can do it." He said, determined. "What will you do?"

"I'll wait for you here with Mirabelle. The stairs is back behind us." He told him. He nodded again, and started to carefully started to check each passenger room further down.

Mirabelle felt like she was just a burden then. She was preventing Neal from also being able to find the others.

"You can go help him." She said dismally. "I...can hold here…" She started to push Neal off, but he tightened his grip around her.

"No! This storm isn't just any storm. It was created by a monster! It almost knocked me off of my feet… You could lose your balance and hit your head against the wall! I almost did!" He said to her. She closed her eyes.

"Well what if the ship sinks?" She asked. He gritted his teeth.

"I'll try my best to prevent that thing out there to do that… No, we _all_ are, once Midahn finds the others…" He turned toward the direction of where Midahn went to see if he had returned yet, but nobody was there.

Despite the storm and the monster attacking the boat, Mirabelle still remained fairly calm, and continued what she wanted to say to him when he bumped into her.

"Can...I ask you something?" She asked him in the same nervous tone as she had earlier. Her head was on his shoulder, and he had his arm around her waist while they were pushing against both walls. Neal's face reddened.

"Uh...okay." He said, not sure what she wanted to say to him. He wasn't sure if she was… coming on to him or something.

"I know you know how I feel about myself sometimes. And you always help me or encourage me to feel better and get stronger." She said. Internally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

_Women are so unpredictable… _He thought. But while she said that, his heart was pounding with nervousness, and she could feel it. She knows that his heart wouldn't start pounding like that because of the situation they were in, with the storm and all, either.

"Yeah." He replied.

"So, I was wondering… if you could...help me. I know you're really strong, and that you're a fighter, not a mage, but I feel like you could still help me become a better white mage...somehow." She said. Neal wondered how in the hell he'd be able to do that, but then realized that she thought that _he_ could help her with that.

"Don't you remember?" He said. "When we decided that soon we would all train together and increase our skills?" He reminded her. "I wasn't just saying that because I felt like it. We're still not that great yet, and I definitely know that we have a lot to learn. We're all going to train and develop our skills soon, Mirabelle. And when we do, I'll help you become the best white mage ever!" He said encouragingly. She smiled.

"I don't believe you." She said mockingly. Neal raised an eyebrow.

_Is she messing with me or something? _He thought. "Well ya should. That's a good mindset to have, and it would be insane to try to do it all by yourself." He replied. Then he added jokingly, "Do you believe me _now_?" She smiled again.

"No." She said jokingly back. He hung his head. But she hugged him.

"Hey! Whatcha guys dooooooooing?!" Midahn called out loudly nearby. Neal and Mirabelle's faces reddened.

"N-nothing!" He replied. She let go of him quickly, embarrassed. Midahn had returned, along with Sevrin and some of the priests.

"You found them!" Neal said, patting Midahn on the shoulder. Everyone braced themselves as the ship suddenly lurched again. When it leveled again, they continued.

Sevrin brushed his shoulders. "Hmph… I was perfectly fine, actually. We had just gotten stuck under everything in the rooms toppling over just out of the blue. What the hell's going on?"

"Me and Midahn were at the front of the ship, when we saw a huge sea monster appear in the distance! We tried to come down to warn you guys, when suddenly this crazy storm hit!" Neal replied. The ship rocked again.

"So it was created by this monster, huh… Well, the storm's not as violent as it was a few minutes ago, so it might have stopped? It could just it beginning to subside now…" Sevrin said hopefully.

"We need to go to the deck quickly!" One of the priests said. "The others, including Father Fusoya are still up there!" The Warriors' eyes widened.

"Oh no! I forgot that some of them are still up there sailing the ship!" Midahn said. "They could be in trouble! Let's hurry!"

They started to scramble toward the stairs further down the hall. But there were lots of toppled down furniture and other obstacles scattered everywhere, making it difficult to get through.

"Whew… it did more damage than I thought…" Neal noticed as they struggled to climb over everything while the ship was still rocking from the unnatural waves.

They reached the deck. One of the masts was draped over the side of the ship. There were many spots of wood ripped completely off of the ship. Towards the end of the deck, they saw the remaining priests lying down. They rushed over to them.

"Are you all okay?!" Neal asked frantically, pulling debris off of them. Fusoya stood up, with the help of two other priests.

"That was… Leviathan." Fusoya said, sounding shaken. The priests gasped. Neal stopped moving, and stared at him blankly.

"What's that?" Midahn asked.

"You haven't heard the tales of Leviathan, 'Lord of All Waters'? Surely you have…" Neal said. Midahn still looked confused.

"That thing we saw earlier… _that_ must have been Leviathan then…" Neal said, sounding both amazed and scared. Midahn's eyes widened.

"That was a _monster_?" He shrieked. The others nodded.

"But why…? Why would Leviathan attack us like that? According to legend, it only attacks those who intentionally try to disturb the seas." One of the priests said. Fusoya was deep in thought. He looked up at them gravely.

"It must be the Water Crystal." He said. Mirabelle suddenly came to a realization.

"Since the Water Crystal was taken from its natural place, then the waters are not calm and peaceful like they should be?" She asked. Fusoya nodded.

"Well how do we return it to the way it should be then?" Sevrin asked. "Who knows what Samael has done with it and what he's up to…?"

"There's gotta be another way, then!" Neal said, slamming his fist onto the railing. "We have to defeat Leviathan!"

"That's crazy talk, man." Sevrin said, shaking his head.

"It doesn't sound as crazy as letting the sea remaining cursed, to me!" He replied. Then he turned out toward the water, raising his fist. "Come out here, Leviathan! I'll show you!"

Suddenly the wind started to pick up. Clouds started to form quickly in the sky, just like the vicious storm.

"Uh...Neal? What did you do?" Mirabelle said, looking up nervously at the sky.

"He accepts my challenge, then!" Neal smiled confidently. Midahn gulped.

"More like you accept your _death…_" Sevrin muttered. He waited anxiously on his guard to see if it would actually show up and attack them again.

The wind started howling, and heavy rain started pouring sideways. Thunder boomed, sending a flash of lightning in the sky, and Leviathan emerged from the water in front of them, letting out a loud roar.

Neal drew his sword. "A-are you serious about this?!" Sevrin shouted to Neal.

"You bet I am! I know I can't kill it, but it's attacking when it shouldn't! I can't just let that happen!" He replied without looking back. The large, scaly sea serpent looked angry and disturbed, and its eyes were glowing a bright red. Fusoya noticed this, and gasped.

"L-Leviathan is not doing this of its own free will… It's… being controlled!" He said to himself, completely shocked.

"What?!" Sevrin called out, not hearing him from the loudness of the piercing wind.

"It is being controlled! Look at its eyes!" Fusoya said loudly, cupping his hands over his mouth.

Neal took a closer look, and noticed it too. Despite never actually seeing it before, he had a feeling that it wasn't acting like it would normally.

_Is this Samael's doing?_ He thought.

Leviathan roared at them again. The water and wind were swirling around it, like an aura, and suddenly blasted toward them when it roared. The ship was blown to the side harshly, almost touching parallel to the water. The Warriors and the priests barely held on to the railing of the ship.

"Do you think…" Sevrin said, gritting his teeth as he gripped the railing as best he could.  
"...That you could defeat that?!" He asked Neal, trying to be realistic with him. Neal looked away, and saw his friends struggling through the storm that Leviathan was directing straight at them.

"Yeah." He said, setting his mind straight. He pulled himself over the railing, standing on the side of the ship. He raised his sword up to Leviathan. All around him and the serpent were whirlpools that were getting larger and larger. The wind was creating what seemed like a hurricane from Leviathan's wrath.

_Tch...eventually those whirlpools will overlap and create one huge one… I've gotta do something fast._ Neal thought apprehensively. But when his eyes returned to Leviathan, he suddenly felt as light as air. The stormy clouds disappeared as quickly as they had formed. The rain was no longer hitting his face. He was lifted off of the ground completely.

"Wha...what's going on?!" He said. The sky was now bright blue, and there was only a light breeze. But he was… floating!

"Is this...the eye of the storm or something?" He wondered. He looked around, and noticed no one else was hovering either. He couldn't even see the ship anymore.

"Oh no! My friends!" Neal shouted, and he started to struggle in the air, reaching down toward them.

"_Do not worry. They are safe at this moment." _A voice said in Neal's head. His eyes widened, and he turned around to see… Leviathan. The large serpent was floating in the eye with him. Its eyes were normal, and its scales were light blue in color, unlike before, where it had dark gray scales.

"Y-you can speak?" Neal asked shakily.

"_I am speaking using telepathy to your mind." _It said to him.

"But why?" Neal asked. "You were attacking us just a minute ago…"

"_The one you call Fusoya is correct. I am being controlled by Laguna, the evil Sea Hydra. And it is true that she was able to do this because of the disappearance of the Crystal of Water." _Leviathan said through telepathy. Neal was in deep thought for a moment.

"Okay. I think I understand. Then our goal is to defeat her then… But now my question is why did you decide to talk to me? And how come it seems like you aren't under control right now?" He asked.

"_Although she is quite powerful, Laguna cannot control me completely. I am able to free myself from her grasp every once in a while, but not for too long. Our time is rather brief right now…" _Leviathan said. "_And as for you, I am speaking to you because you are the most powerful one out of Vesta's Chosen."_

"Vesta's...Chosen?" Neal wondered.

"_Or what you know yourselves as: Warriors of the Light." _Leviathan told him. "_I do not have enough time to explain that."_ It said, as if reading Neal's mind. "_I'm here to teach you how to summon me."_

Neal's eyes widened. He didn't question Leviathan, as he knew they didn't have much longer.

"_The four of you combining your inner powers, have the ability to summon magical beings such as myself, in battle. Each different being has a certain element of nature. Mine, of course, is water. You will learn much about summoning later on, so what I've told you now is enough. Now let me teach you something about your power, child of light…" _Leviathan said, and filled Neal's brain with ancient knowledge. It was so much for him at one time that he couldn't handle it, and his consciousness faded away.

When he awoke, he was on the ship again. He blinked a few times before opening his eyes. Everything was a little blurry.

"Hey! He's awake." Midahn said. They rushed over to him.

"Ugh…" Neal grumbled, rubbing his head. He sat up, and started looking around. The sky was clear, and the wind was nice. It seems like the storm was over. The sun was starting to set as well.

"How long was I out?" Neal asked.

"A few hours, more or less." Sevrin replied. "The storm began to die down, and the boat finally tilted back up. Next thing we know, you come falling from the sky, landing in the water."

"Huh? From the sky?" He asked, confused. Then his eyes widened as he remembered what happened with Leviathan.

"Yeah, the storm disappeared for us so quickly because we were in the eye of it." Neal said.

"How do you know?" Mirabelle asked him. He turned to her, and pointed up at the sky.

"'Cuz I had a good view." He said. "I understand why this happened."

"What do you mean, child?" Fusoya said, coming closer.

"I saw Leviathan." Neal said.

"We all did…" Sevrin said, not understanding.

"No… I _saw_ Leviathan. The real one. And he talked to me." Neal replied.

"What are you talking about?" Sevrin asked.

"When I climbed onto the top of the boat when it was sideways, Leviathan raised me up to the sky, and he returned to normal." He told them how Leviathan was being controlled by Laguna.

"How extraordinary!" Fusoya said. This must be the first time an ancient magical being has actually _spoken_ to a Warrior of Light, let alone a human being!"

Neal scratched his head, looking away. He didn't want to mention Leviathan telling him about him being the most powerful.

_Did he mean I was the most powerful out of my friends, or out of all the Warriors of the Light ever…? _Neal wondered, a little troubled. Normally, hearing this would make him feel proud and excited, but the way Leviathan said it made him feel like it was a… bad thing. Maybe that was the reason Leviathan spoke to him in the first place.

"Neal, you there?" Mirabelle asked. He shook himself back to reality.

"Huh?" He said.

"Did it tell you what we have to do to help him return things to normal?" She asked.

"Uh… yeah. There is an evil hydra in this sea called Laguna. She's the one who is actually controlling Leviathan from time to time. He warned me that she was very powerful too. The Water Crystal not being in its right place is the reason why her power is not restrained anymore." He informed them. Fusoya nodded.

"I had a feeling…" He said.

"So where do we find this Laguna?" Sevrin thought. "We can't use this ship anymore…" He said, looking back at the other half of the ship, which was actually missing…

The Warriors sighed. "Ugh… why the boat?" Mirabelle complained.

Neal laughed. He had one foot raised up to the railing, as if to jump in. "What's the matter? Can't swim?"

"Wait! We're in the middle of nowhere! It could be _miles_ before we even reach land." She said, waving her hands.

"Heh. No way! Look over there!" He pointed across the distance. She looked over, and there was land not too far from the shore.

She walked over to the edge of the broken ship. "Eh… there is land! But it's still so far away!"

"Are you for real? That's maybe half a mile! That's nothing!" Neal said.

"I couldn't swim that far in one go!" Mirabelle told him, shaking her head.

"Well, you'll never know if you don't try!" Neal said, snickering as he pushed her off the edge of the ship. She screamed all the way down as she plunged into the water. Neal started laughing.

"Neal! You jerk! When this is over with I swear I'm gonna-"! He heard her scream angrily down below.

"Priests, we'll come back with help to get you! Don't worry!" Neal said, giving them a thumbs up as he jumped off the boat after her. Sevrin and Midahn nodded to them, and jumped into the water behind him.

They found Mirabelle, treading stubbornly in the spot where she fell from.

"Hey, you guys ready for training exercise number one?!" Neal said with excitement. Mirabelle scowled.

"Endurance!" He shouted, and they began swimming to the shoreline. When they finally reached it, Neal turned around, looking at the distance they covered. The sky was red over the water from the sun setting. It looked beautiful. He smiled.

Mirabelle slowly stepped out of the water, panting. She became extremely sluggish.

"Hey, there's the champ!" Neal said jokingly. She raised a fist at him, but then started to fall down. Her muscles were exhausted all over. He ran over and caught her.

"Hah. You did good! Lasted longer than I thought." He said.

"Thanks. Thanks for believing in me, Neal." She said sarcastically.

"We still need to rescue the priests, so there's no resting yet!" He said, and dashed off with her. She was dragging her feet.

"How do you have so much _energy_?" She mumbled, barely being able to keep open her eyes.

"Sometimes, I don't even know…" He said. They found a small town, and asked townsfolk for some help after explaining their situation. A small emergency ship was sent the fairly short distance to get the priests to shore.

"Thank you, Warriors of the Light." Fusoya said when they reached the shoreline. The rest of the priests thanked them too, as well as the kind people who sent the ship.

"Where are we, by the way?" Neal asked.

"The south-eastern island of Urahan." A citizen replied. "It is a popular place among tourists. The island is really beautiful. There are many attractions here, as well as one of the largest inns around."

"Oh wow. Now that you mention it, this place _is _nice. Especially at night…" Neal said, looking around the island view.

"So how come you are here?" The citizen asked him. "Did you want to experience the island yourselves? If so, that's one hell of a way to get here." He said. They all shared a laugh.

They stayed at the grand Inn that the island was so famous for. They had a good night's rest, especially Mirabelle.

"So how are we going to defeat this Laguna?" Neal said the next day. He was with Fusoya and Sevrin.

"I believe you might be able to lure her to you just like you did with Leviathan." Fusoya said to him. He tilted his head.

"Really? You think so? I was just impatient and kinda yelled out for it…" Neal said. "That actually works?"

"I'd think they would see it as a form of taunt." He said. "If you decide to challenge her, then be careful. If Leviathan told you she is powerful, then she must be one to fear. But something else tells me that you might be her match."

A few hours later, the four Warriors headed for the water. They took a ship far enough away so that Urahan wouldn't be in any danger.

"Hey." Neal said, sounding completely serious. "There was something that Leviathan did that I didn't mention to you guys yet."

"What is it?" Sevrin asked him. Neal explained to them what Leviathan told him about Summoning.

"How are we all going to learn this then? It is a coordinated effort, so that seems like it would take a long time to master." Sevrin said.

"I've got to somehow give this knowledge to you all fast. It's spinning everywhere in my head. I don't even know what to make of it, honestly, but it's there. It's like I have no idea what it is saying, but I can completely comprehend it…" Neal said, sounding unsure of himself.

"Everyone grab each others hands." Mirabelle said.

"Huh? Why?" Neal asked.

"There's a method that I heard of using the power of your mind." She said. They all grabbed each others hands, connecting them together. "I'm not crazy, but I think this might work. You just have to concentrate hard, Neal. You have to focus on all of the knowledge in your mind and send it to ours."

"Okay, worth a shot, I guess." Neal shrugged. He closed his eyes, and began to focus on all of the words going through his head that he couldn't quite understand. It was completely quiet, and they were all very still, so he could hear the words better. He felt like he wasn't even in his own body anymore, and forgot that the purpose was to try to send the knowledge to his friends. All he could see and hear was the knowledge. It kept getting louder and louder, and the words kept flowing around him faster and faster. Faster to a point where he couldn't take it anymore, and he abruptly opened his eyes. He was still holding his friends hands. Their eyes were wide open, and it looked like they were all in a trance.

"Uh... hey. Hello?" He said. That snapped them back into reality. Sevrin shook his head.

"Woah… I think it actually _worked_… I'm thinking of things that I've never even heard of before…" He said, sounding amazed.

"It's a little blurry… but I can feel it too…" Mirabelle said. Midahn nodded in agreement.

"Well… we don't have time to practice. Who knows how many people setting sail are getting attacked… We need to stop that Laguna freak." Neal said, standing up. He turned out to the open sea.

"Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah. Let's put an end to this." Sevrin said.

"Hey! Laguna. Yeah you! We know alllll about you, so face us! We're going to stop you from your evil doing! You hear me?!" Neal shouted at the top of his lungs.

After a few moments of nothing happening, Neal turned back to the others. "Do you think this is going to work again? 'Cuz I really don't…"

"You called?" A slithering voice said wickedly.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! The Warriors of the Light have encountered the mystical being of the water, Leviathan. And it gave Neal advice?! They learned that the reason for the waters being cursed is from the disappearance of the Water Crystal, and Leviathan was being controlled by an evil Sea Hydra, Laguna. Next week, they challenge her in battle, and something goes terribly wrong?!


End file.
